The Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová) have announced their first new album in 16 years, “Forward”, will be released on June 13th. An eight-song collection, it was produced by Sturla Mio Thorisson and recorded at his and Irglova’s Masterkey Studios in Iceland alongside original Swell Season musicians Marja Gaynor and Bertrand Galen (strings) and Joseph Doyle (bass) and newcomer Piero Perelli (drums and percussion).
The duo also shared the lead single ‘Stuck In Reverse‘ with a video produced by James Del and Anthony Mulcahy, and filmed during a surprise show last month at a New York bar – you can watch the video for it below. “In any situation of letting go, moving on is clearly the right and natural thing to do,” explains Hansard of the song. “This song speaks to that part of us that can’t quite get there. The moment just before complete acceptance.” ‘Stuck In Reverse‘ follows last month’s single and additional album track ‘People We Used To Be‘.
Sixteen years have passed since the release of the duo’s previous album, 2009’s “Strict Joy“, and it might be expected that Hansard and Irglová would title a new collection of songs as something commemorative or reflective instead of the succinct “Forward”. But, as anyone who has followed their career will tell you, this lot don’t exactly do things the typical way. First formed by Hansard, then best known as the frontman of Irish rock band The Frames, and Czech pianist and singer Irglová in 2005, the duo released a self-titled LP in 2006 before going on to star in and perform their songs in the film “Once”. The movie catapulted them into the spotlight and earned them the 2007 “Best Original Song” Academy Award for ‘Falling Slowly‘ before being adapted into a Tony-winning Broadway play. In 2022 the longtime friends decided amid their respective solo careers to officially reconvene for a handful of shows, which led to not only a larger run of dates in 2023 but a recording session as well. A single, ‘The Answer Is Yes,‘ encouraged the pair to converge again in Irglová’s Iceland studio to write a new album in 2024, and from there, well, it seemed there was only one direction for the band to go.
“It felt right to title the record ‘Forward’ because it’s a reunion of sorts, but we’re not going backwards,” Irglová says. “Both of us have grown and changed; we’re in different places and getting to know each other again as the new people we’ve become.”
“After our whirlwind that led up to the Oscars and after, we were so busy and with that came a pressure that neither of us particularly wanted, and ultimately we kind of drifted in the middle of all of that hard work and celebration,” Hansard adds. “We remained good friends, helping on each other’s records, keeping up with each other’s families. While touring my last record, I realised I just missed her. I remember calling Marketa and saying, ‘Do you feel like doing some gigs?’ She said, ‘Yeah, that sounds great,’ and the shows went really well. Once we were hanging out again, new songs started coming through, and we started trying new ideas and playing the songs onstage. From there, the idea was to do a little recording and not put any pressure on it, just see what happens, and suddenly we found ourselves making a record. And we were both totally into it and so here we are, a new chapter of our lives.”
Next month, the pair will embark on a lengthy tour of Europe, the UK, Ireland, and North America in support of the album. The new album is now available for pre-order and UK and Ireland tickets are available here.
The Swell Season UK Dates 2025:
May 28 – London, UK – Royal Festival Hall
May 29 – Gateshead, UK – The Glasshouse
May 31 – Dublin, IE – National Concert Hall
June 01 – Dublin, IE – National Concert Hall
