The Swell Season: As Real As It Gets

ONCE Fans, Listen up!!!

I’m fairly certain that most readers of this blog have already seen the movie Once by now…but if you haven’t, I strongly recommend seeing it ASAP.

Now, most of you know the movie…but I’d be willing to guess not all of you know that the two main characters are a couple in real life. To anyone who’s familiar with Once, this is a sweet note after an already sweet movie. However, the sweetest thing is that they decided to continue to play music together. The Irish couple formed a band named The Swell Season and coming this October 27th they will release their second album (titled Strict Joy) featuring 12 brand-new songs. The primary songwriters are Glen and Marketa.

Glen Hansard (formerly of The Frames) and Marketa Irglova are, by my account, two of the most talented songwriters of our time. As an added perk, they are two of the most humble musicians I know of, and by their performances it’s easy to see that music is what they live for, not money or fame, but music. Always passionate, and always real, their music is heartfelt and packed with raw emotion. It’s a blessing to hear people who still care about the songs that they are singing, and that’s exactly what sets The Swell Season apart.

If you're like me and find passion to be one of the most important aspects of music, this band is perfect for you. Unlike the artist from my previous post featuring Miss Li, this artist has none of the spunky pop-sound that dominates the popular music charts. Their songs can be best described as "human". Full of doubt, confusion, happiness, and anger these songs take you on a journey through the deepest depths of human emotion. It's as real as music gets.

Lucky for us, they performed several of the songs off the new album for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert. They even do an encore, which NPR says is the first encore in the program’s history. In the 33-minute video, it is clear to see that the characters we know from the movie aren’t a far leap from their real selves. So, I say to anyone reading this blog who fears this video will ruin the novelty of the movie…be at ease. I guarantee this video will engage to the level at which you feel like you are right in the room. I hope you enjoy watching this as much as I did!

Also, if you want to know more about Glen & Marketa's relationship and how it relates to Once, you should read this excellent interview article!

-Evan
Senior Asst. Editor