The Swell Season, the music duo that won hearts and an Oscar with their 2006 tune “Falling Slowly,” is making a long-awaited return with their first album in 16 years.
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Irish musician Glen Hansard and Czech singer-pianist Markéta Irglová have revealed that their new album, Forward, will be released on June 13. Alongside the announcement, they unveiled their latest single, “Stuck in Reverse.”
“It felt right to title the record Forward because it’s a reunion of sorts, but we’re not going backwards,” Irglová explained in a statement. “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.”
Formed in 2005, the duo gained recognition the following year with the release of their self-titled debut album. Their breakthrough came in 2007 when they starred in John Carney’s acclaimed film Once. In 2008, their song “Falling Slowly” won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. They followed this success with their second album, Strict Joy, in 2009.
After a handful of sporadic performances over the years, the duo made their long-awaited return to music in 2023 with the release of “The Answer is Yes,” their first new track in over a decade. This recording session ultimately sparked their decision to fully reunite.
Hansard Recalls the Success of Once Inadvertently Led to the Music Duo’s Hiatus
“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 explained in a statement.
He continued: “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,” Hansard added. “And we were both totally into it, and so here we are, a new chapter of our lives.”
After completing a trio of performances in New York City and Boston this March, the duo is set to tour across Europe and the U.K. in May. They’ll then return to North America for another series of shows this summer.