Strict Joy is the recently released sophomore album by The Swell Season. If you don’t recognize the name, The Swell Season is composed of Glen Hansard and other members of The Frames, along with Marketa Irglova of the film Once (the soundtrack of which was on my 2007 Top Albums list). The Swell Season derive their name from Hansard’s favourite novel
there’s diamonds growing in the mountain
beneath the pressure of all time
they grow in hope and expectation
waiting for your hands to find
I’m very torn on how to review this album. I wish so much that I could gush and rave about it, because I think the band is truly talented and they all seem like such nice, humble people. And had I never heard Glen Hansard’s music before, I might have a higher opinion of this release.
But it’s difficult to avoid disappointment when comparing these new songs to his previous efforts, all of which featured dramatic, intricate arrangements and incredibly emotional vocals. Maybe I’ve been spoiled in the past by the instant gratification of songs like “Revelate” and “Falling Slowly.” I suppose I just miss the sound of Glen wailing his heart out of his chest as the music quaked and soared beneath his vocals.
This time around the heartache seeps out in a gentle, gradual manner with a much simpler, mellow acoustic sound. Songs like “Low Rising” in particular seem to imitate but don’t quite capture the breezy romantic style of Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic,” a song The Swell Season has covered several times in the past two years. Being likened to Morrison is certainly a compliment and “Into The Mystic” is one of my favorite songs of all time, but Strict Joy is just not the immediately mesmeric and moving experience I’ve come to expect from a Hansard album.
Still, Glen Hansard at his weakest is light years ahead of every other artist, so take the preceding paragraphs with the proverbial grain of salt. I realize I tend to hold my favorite artists to a higher standard than others, and this may be a little unfair.
I think perhaps Strict Joy is a grower. The more urgent pace of “Feeling The Pull” and the quiet tension of “In These Arms” definitely have that crawl under your skin potential.
And the album is a lyrical masterpiece from beginning to end. The delicate, melancholy ballad “Fantasy Man,” in which Marketa takes lead vocal, is the stand out in this regard.
Ultimately, I hope this will be taken as a positive, but balanced review. If you can listen to the album without expectation, it’s beautiful in its own way. But if you go into it with memories of what once (no pun intended) was, it’s solid but slightly unsatisfactory.
The Swell Season – Low Rising (mp3 expired) *
*mp3 posted w/ permission of band’s PR rep
One Response to “The Swell Season: Strict Joy”
I saw this album the other day and was wondering about it. Thanks for your review! My first exposure to Hansard and Irglova was through “Once”. I’ll probably give the full album a try, still — it does sound like it has potential.