After returning with the new song ‘People We Used to Be’ last month, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová have announced their first album as the Swell Season in 16 years. Forward arrives June 13, and the nostalgic ‘Stuck in Reverse’, which features a particularly stirring performance from Hansard, is out now. Check it out below.
Forward was produced by Sturla Mio Thorisson and recorded at his and Irglova’s Masterkey Studios in Iceland. It features the original Swell Season lineup of Marja Gaynor and Bertrand Galen on strings and Joseph Doyle on bass, with Piero Perelli on drums and percussion. “It felt right to title the record Forward because it’s a reunion of sorts, but we’re not going backwards,” Irglová explained. “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.”
Hansard added:
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. We remained good friends, helping on each other’s records, keeping up with each other’s families. While touring my last record, I realized 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.
Forward Cover Artwork:
Forward Tracklist:
1. Factory Street Bells
2. People We Used to Be
3. Stuck In Reverse
4. I Leave Everything To You
5. A Little Sugar
6. Pretty Stories
7. Great Weight
8. Hundred Words
