By Skylar Smith
Daily Titan Staff Writer

There is something about great Irish musical artists. Something that moves the soul, keeps you down to earth, and at times enlightens you. Damien Rice defined it with his soothing voice, sweeping music, and epic rises and falls. Now Swell Season has taken this sound even further on their second work entitled Strict Joy.

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová were thrust into the spotlight last year when their song “Falling Slowly” won an Oscar for best song in the movie Once, which they were also starring in. Out of the creativity and songwriting effort put into Once came Swell Season, a band primarily composed of Irglova, Hansard and Hansard’s band The Frames, which has already achieved great success in Ireland.

Now several years later and dealing with overwhelming success Swell Season has created an album that proves Ireland is the home of great songwriting and soul-swelling music.

The album starts with “Low Rising,” which immediately proves that Hansard and Irglová are out to make something different. Although it’s got Hansard’s signature Irish lyrical flair, a string section to make hearts swell, the most interesting bit is the horns. Irglová and Hansard work their guitar and piano parts together in a groove that will make all listeners sway.

“Feeling the Pull” is about the closest listeners and long time Glen Hansard fans are going to get to The Frames, with the Hansard growl almost breaking into a shout but never quite getting too overwhelming.

After “Feeling the Pull” the songs take a turn down a road of beautiful heart ache, and emotion. “In These Arms” and “The Rain” both put an emphasis on musical swells and Hansards nack for putting emotional moments in relationships to melody. “The Rain” especially gets the Irish musical flair of building a song up to an epic sweep for the end.

“Fantasy Man” Irglová’s first song on vocals for Strict Joy is pure beauty. Anyone who listened to the Once soundtrack and the first Swell Season album knows that Irglová’s delicate voice combined with some heart wrenching lyrics and slightly melancholy melody can bring a tear to almost anyone’s eye. This song takes that and, with a hint pop added to it, becomes spectacularly moving both emotionally and physically. Literally I was swaying in my computer chair upon first listening to it.

The rest of the album follows in the same fashion as these songs but with their own individual hooks. “Love that Conquers” was surprising to me especially because it is so obviously inspired by Iron and Wine, a band that has toured with Swell Season previously.

I have no doubt that this album will please fans of Swell Season and the movie Once. Although it’s not what die-hard Frames fans want, it is the direction Glen Hansard wants to go in and with Markéta Irglová as a creative partner in song writing, fans and newcomers alike will get plenty of joy and emotion out of this album.