The Swell Season, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Forward (2025)

It's crazy to think that the beloved 2007 movie Once and its soundtrack almost didn't happen, at least not in the way that ended up charming the world. Cillian Murphy was originally meant to play the role of a busker who falls for a young flower seller and creates magical songs with her before a star-crossed, not-quite-happy ending. In real life, of course, it was Glen Hansard who ended up starring opposite Markéta Irglová, winning an Oscar alongside her for "Falling Slowly," forming the folky duo The Swell Season and (for better or worse) inspiring countless imitators—and becoming a couple. The relationship lasted long enough for a second album in 2009, but the duo parted ways even as Once lived on as a Tony-winning musical. Hansard has released several solid, sometimes very good, albums on his own and with The Frames, and Irglová has continued to make music as well. But neither has re-created the success or alchemy of their original partnership.

Now they have reunited for the first The Swell Season album in 16 years—and are giving old fans what they likely want. "How I missed the people we used to be/ And all those things that you brought out in me," Irglová sings, downy-soft, on "People We Used to Be." When Hansard joins her over plainspoken piano, both of them hitting the falsetto pitch that was the sound of longing in "Falling Slowly," it's truly like hearing an old friend. "Can we go backwards?" Hansard asks on soulful "Stuck in Reverse" before admitting, "I know there's no going back now." He does not hold back on emotion, sounding almost staggered by it as honey-laden horns offer support. "Tell me that you really meant it/ When you said you loved me," Irglová implores on "Pretty Stories," a Dusty in Memphis-esque power ballad (well, as powerful as romantic folk music gets) about seeing an old lover move on and wishing them them the best, but also hoping they never forget you. Are they playing us? Probably, but it's hard to resist.

Hansard—who has said the pressure of fame was too much for their personal and professional relationship—and Irglová also follow a formula that builds up to gloriously emotional bridges that don't spill over so much as they erupt. But there are surprises, especially on "Factory Street Bells," a charismatic track that seems to be for Hansard's young son, and shows him having mellowed into a sort of Cat Stevens sweet spot. "Great Weight," meanwhile, is a steam factory of a song, with noirish sax work by Michael Buckley and Hansard doing a jazzy, Tom Waits-style dark cabaret. For her part, Irglová—who sings "remember me" on the fragile ballad "I Leave Everything to You"—reveals her hand on "Hundred Words." "I want you to know I'm still here," she sings. "I have just been keeping low profile/ Grateful for my time in the limelight." It's not just Hansard she was missing, but all of us.

TRACKLIST

1. Marketa Irglova;Glen Hansard;The Swell Season - Factory Street Bells
2. Marketa Irglova;Glen Hansard;The Swell Season - People We Used To Be
3. Marketa Irglova;Glen Hansard;The Swell Season - Stuck In Reverse
4. Marketa Irglova;Glen Hansard;The Swell Season - I Leave Everything To You
5. Marketa Irglova;Glen Hansard;The Swell Season - A Little Sugar
6. Marketa Irglova;Glen Hansard;The Swell Season - Pretty Stories
7. Marketa Irglova;Glen Hansard;The Swell Season - Great Weight
8. Marketa Irglova;Glen Hansard;The Swell Season - Hundred Words