The Swell Season have returned with their first new album in 16 years. The Once duo of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová have reunited for Forward, due out June 13, and the single "Stuck in Reverse" is out now.
The pair haven't released an album together since 2009's Strict Joy, but they've been active in recent years, releasing the singles "The Answer Is Yes" (in 2023) and "People We Used to Be" (earlier this spring), as well as booking tour dates. The latter of those singles is included on Forward, which was captured in Irglová's studio in Iceland.
Hansard said in a statement about the Swell Season's long break between albums, "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."
After three record sessions, they emerged with eight songs, balancing Hansard's preference to keep things raw with Irglová's love for more lavishly grand arrangements.
Hear "Stuck in Reverse" below, and see the group's tour schedule below that. They've added a Vancouver show since the last time we checked in on their plans, which already included a Toronto date.
Forward:
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
The Swell Season 2025 Tour Dates:
05/13 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Koninklijk Theater Carré
05/14 Antwerp, Belgium - De Roma
05/16 Köln, Germany - Stadthalle Köln-Mülheim Jülich GmbH
05/17 Hamburg, Germany - CCH - Congress Center Hamburg
05/19 Berlin, Germany - Admiralspalast
05/20 Vienna, Austria - Wiener Konzerthaus
05/21 Prague, Czech Republic - Forum Karlín
05/23 Kraków, Poland - Klub Studio
05/24 Warszawa, Poland - Klub Stodoła
05/25 Brno, Czech Republic - Sono Centrum
05/28 London, UK - Royal Festival Hall
05/29 Gateshead, UK - The Glasshouse
05/31 Dublin, Ireland - National Concert Hall
06/01 Dublin, Ireland - National Concert Hall
07/11 Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
07/12 Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theatre
07/13 Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre
07/15 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
07/16 Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
07/18 Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre
07/19 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
07/21 Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
07/23 Rochester, NY - Kodak Center
07/25 Northampton, MA - The Pines Theater
07/26 Brooklyn, NY - Kings Theatre
07/29 Philadelphia, PA - The Met
07/31 Greenville, SC - Peace Center
08/01 Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
08/02 Atlanta, GA - The Woodruff Arts Center
09/09 St. Louis, MO - The Factory
09/10 Kansas City, MO - The Midland Theatre
09/12 Dallas, TX - The Majestic Theater
09/13 Austin, TX - ACL Live at The Moody Theater
09/15 Santa Fe, NM - Lensic Performing Arts Center
09/16 Mesa, AZ - Mesa Arts Center (Ikeda Theater)
09/19 Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theatre
09/20 San Francisco, CA - The Masonic
09/22 Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
09/23 Vancouver, BC - The Orpheum Theatre
09/24 Seattle, WA - The Paramount Theatre