A few years ago, a low-budget film called Once made quite the impression on international critics for its minimal and poignant love story, fleshed out by a heartfelt soundtrack and the charm of its non-professional actors. After humbly accepting an Oscar for Best Original Song, the stars and songwriters Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová returned to their level of tertiary fame as the duo project they had begun before the film came to fruition. Now solely recording under the moniker The Swell Season, the two return with another full-length of folksy indie rock, filled with insistence, heartbreak, and plenty of self-imposed Irish guilt.
2006's The Swell Season was a minimal exploration of dejection and coping methods, and most songs saw the duo at their most subdued and vulnerable state. This contained a few of the tracks that made it to Once, including the award-winning "Falling Slowly," and although the record feels stripped down, there are obvious markers of a pair of musicians thriving on one another. Strict Joy is a more varied and more fully realized journey into the musical leanings of Hansard and Irglová, with a wide variety of sentiments played out both lyrically and melodically. It opens with the album's second single, "Low Rising," where a few layered guitars give adequate room for Hansard to boast his vocal range and strong delivery. The song is slow and simple, with robust blues overtones emphasized by twang-y guitar solos heard throughout. This segues well into the lush piano and acoustic guitar of "Feeling the Pull," where both musicians help to create the sentiment of a bittersweet rainy day. The notes feel warm and familiar, with all parts fitting well together, showcasing the overall musicianship of the duo.
The album is paced rather well, bouncing between a full-band sound that utilizes all the perks of studio recording and a softer, more traditional singer-songwriter approach. The high production value benefits tracks like "The Verb," where the tone ranges from hushed to adamant and back again, as layered vocals from both musicians are accented by a series of strings. Irglová takes the lead on only two tracks on this record, but they continue to prove that she can pull her creative weight on this team. "Fantasy Man" laments a ruined relationship through broad symbolism, while her soft voice carries itself through the meandering track.
One complaint of Strict Joy might be that these roads have all been tread before. The folk-heavy "Love That Conquers" is highly reminiscent of an Iron & Wine B-side, which itself can be seen as rather stylized. But none of these tracks are derivative of anything in particular, and the overall honesty and precision within the Swell Season's sound make this album quite satisfying. The odd final track, "Back Broke," has a minimal keyboard paired with an acoustic guitar that could almost be an outtake from a pop-punk album, acting as a fun and personal note to finish out the record. Strict Joy proves that Hansard and Irglová are not the types of musicians to be pushed back into obscurity, and that the Swell Season has much more to offer us after their perceived big break.
