The Swell Season – Forward

Folk

76%

 

As the years tick by I find myself reaching the age where my social circle has begun to shrink. A point where people I used to see everyday become people I haven’t seen in years. I can look at my “friends” list on Facebook and scroll through one unfamiliar name after another. There are crushes I was head-over-heels for a decade ago whose faces I can barely remember. People I used to tell everything to, who have gone on to lead whole other lives since we last spoke. We all tend to drift apart from one another as times go on, not through any concerted effort or personal fault, just by virtue of getting caught up in our own little worlds. Even when we want to reconnect with those we’ve lost touch with, what often holds us back is simply being at a loss of what to say. Where do you even start? 

Luckily, we’re occasionally blessed to meet someone with which we’ll make a more profound and lasting connection. The kind of person whom it feels like you’ve known you’re whole life upon first meeting them. Someone who you can go years without speaking to and still pick things up where you left off like no time had passed. The kind of connection that lifts you both up to be the best versions of yourselves. The Swell Season always struck me as having that kind of bond. Those unfamiliar with the duo’s name will likely be better acquainted with their finest hour – their Oscar winning musical performance in the beloved 2007 indie film Once. What made that film, and especially the songs within, so earnest and moving was how it focused on the very real spark of connection between Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. Their star burned brightly, and briefly, as the two songwriters drifted apart to focus on other projects. Though I’ve loved the music they’ve made in that time, to my mind they did their best work when working together. 

Forward arrives nearly 16 years after their last record together. Much has changed in that time – Markéta’s vocals sound so much more assured, and while the years may have tempered some of Glen’s fire, his voice carries more weight than ever. This record being as moving as it is goes to prove that some things never change. As its name suggests, Forward does not concern itself with looking back. It doesn’t revolve around a particular nostalgic point, but rather recognises that it’s not a point at all; it’s a thread, one that persisted through the intervening years, and extends well into the years ahead. The gorgeous duet ‘People We Used To Be‘ perhaps best sums up the magic at the heart of this album. Even in the face of change, where so much of what you once shared has crumbled away, that one unbreakable thread can be the lifeline that draws two people back into each others’ lives. 

Glen and Markéta’s songwriting partnership burns brightly, rekindled, each pushing the other to their best. ‘Factory Street Bells’ has a warm and familiar rise and fall to it, with a chorus that feels like a cosy pub singalong, while the light elegant vibes of ‘Stuck In Reverse’ gives way to lush flashes of soul. The latter half of ‘A Little Sugar’ has soft, almost psychedelic swirl to it, while the dark jazzy brass of ‘Great Weight’ feels like a cut from Glen’s This Wild Willing. Playful and sinister like a villain song, it soon grew on me to become one of my favourite tracks.

Though in the early days Glen had the lion’s share of the spotlight as the more established artist, it’s wonderful to hear Markéta play a more prominent role is this latest record. The delicate piano lullaby of ‘I Leave Everything To You’ makes for some truly haunting balladry, while the slow burning ‘Pretty Stories’ flips the duo’s usual formula in its impassioned climax. It was always remarkable on tracks like ‘When Your Mind’s Made Up’ how Markéta was able to harmonise with Glen’s primal, throat-tearing screams. Yet in the finale of ‘Pretty Stories’ we hear the roles reversed, with Glen harmonising as Markéta cries out with all her might. 

The Swell Season’s career reminds me a little of Richard Linklater’s Before Trilogy. The years and circumstances may change, but that deep shared connection still endures. Granted, Forward can’t be called the pair’s best work. Though it’s full of charming tracks there’s nothing so touching and memorable as ‘Falling Slowly’, or ‘When Your Mind’s Made Up’, or even ‘Low Rising’ to be found here. Much as in the trilogy, revelling in a flame still burning will never be quite as potent as that first initial spark. Even so, I can’t deny that it warms my heart and soul to hear The Swell Season making music together again all these years later. Listening to Forward I feel reunited with an old friend, renewing my connection with their music as though no time has passed.