After a 16-year hiatus, the folk duo return with an introspective, heartfelt, and nostalgic album.
The Swell Season was formed by Glen Hansard, an Irish singer-songwriter and frontman of The Frames, and Markéta Irglová, a Czech pianist and vocalist. The pair rose to international fame after they starred in the 2007 film “Once”, featuring their composition ‘Falling Slowly’, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. In the 2010s, the duo put their collaboration on pause to pursue solo careers. However, ‘Forward’ sees them reconvene to release their first album for 16 years, although despite the lengthy break, the record only comprises eight tracks, clocking in at just over 36 minutes.
Opener ‘Factory Street Bells’ features string-heavy instrumentation with Hansard on lead vocal duties. ‘People Used To Be’ has both Hansard and Irglová singing alternate verses and duetting on the chorus. It’s a song of regret ruminating on how relationships can break down and that “Even the best of friends can become estranged”. ‘Stuck In Reverse’ is another reflection on past liaisons and yearning for days when things were better as Hansard sings, “Can we go backwards, Back to the days before the wheels came off, I know there’s no going back now, I tried to move on, but I’m stuck in reverse.”
The standout track on the record is ‘I Leave Everything To You’. It’s an emotional piano ballad, sung solely by Irglová. There’s a rawness, vulnerability, and edge which isn’t always the case on some of the more polished songs on this record. Irglová’s voice is delicate and beautiful. It conveys the difficulty of asking forgiveness as she sings, “Everything I ever knew, I passed it onto you, The good and the bad.” The song manages to capture regret and courage in equal measure. The beauty of the singing is heightened by the addition of some understated strings, which intensify the emotional depth of the song’s bridge and the sense that Irglová is purging herself of the guilt which she carries.
‘A Little Sugar’ is a call for kindness and patience, it’s followed by ‘Pretty Stories’ sung by Irglová, a reflection on a failed relationship and the yearning for it to continue if only for one more night as she sings, “Give me a day, please, give me a night, Give me one more sunset, just one more sunrise.” ‘The Great Weight’ has a horn section to the fore, and it has a certain swing to it. The record comes to a close with ‘Hundred Words’. It’s a slightly anodyne way to end this well-crafted comeback album of thoughtful, polished folk songs, which should appeal to fans of The Swell Season’s previous two albums.
