These two are a match made in heaven, kindred spirits... and any other duet-describing cliches you can throw at them
Last time I met Glen it was at a Frames gig in Doyle's, Dublin. He was in an exalted frame of mind from having played a blinder of an acoustic show with his trusty long-time band mates, he was feeling pretty chuffed with the ways things were going, with music on the soundtracks of Czech film 'Beauty In Trouble' and the movie made by Frames bassist John Carney, in which Glen and Marketa Irglova feature, 'Once'. Plus he'd made this...
The Swell Season is the product of the collaboration between two perfectly, perfectly matched recording artists; Hansard's gravel-like voice alongside Irglova's stunning vocal beauty is the combination of two truly kindred spirits, the matching of Glen's time-worn acoustic guitar and Marketa's touching piano, with an exceptional backing of exquisitely arranged strings, is the product of star-crossed, heaven-formed musical gelling.
Absolutely sensational in all honesty... If you've any knowledge of the Irish scene, then you'll know what stalwarts The Frames are, they've been around for a long time and are the band that everyone knows and that some seriously, seriously obsess over. Their music is sturdy and alluring and the band are held in an esoteric high esteem, but are relatively unknown outside of their home country.
This album, however, is a sample of the purest music to have come out of Mr. Hansard's head, mingled in with the majesty of what the astounding Czech maestro Marketa Irglova has mustered, and it breaks down any boundaries that could possibly dampen their praise-deserving names. I mean this is an album that can communicate an emotion so pure to literally anybody, even the most embittered and uncompromising of the dismissive.
'Sleeping?' and 'Falling Slowly' are natural-born classics, evoking the feeling you get from Frames numbers like 'Dream Awake' or 'People Get Ready' and blowing them up by a thousand, and from 'The Swell Season' on out to 'Alone Apart' the album is just bustling with a deep-seeded energy, it's an ocean of emotion.
'The Cost' (The Frames' latest album) was good, and two tracks from here were included on it, and they're are a real tour-de-force to witness live in the right place, but alongside Marketa Irglova Glen Hansard has really found his voice, and its never sounded better, one of the sweetest male/female duets I've heard in years. The Swell Season is an album for a slow, dreamy day, that will take you away, plonk you in amongst the clouds and serenade you to another plain of being. Glorious.