Yeah it’s yer man and yer one from that film Once. We’ll get this introductory bit out of the way first. The band The Swell Season was actually established by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglova a year before Once and released a self-titled album in 2006. Then some sharp fuckers decided to cast them in that film. Cue instant fame and you’re mother owning Once: The Official Soundtrack. With no sign of Once 2: Duet of Death they decided to do another The Swell Season album and it arrives in the form of Strict Joy.

First of all, you’ll all be glad to hear that this is a huge departure from previous ventures by this duo. Markéta Irglová has abandoned the piano and stringed instruments which she is best known for playing and has gone for unexpected wind instruments. Also, Glen is now rapping about South American rebels, socioeconomic strife amongst angst riddled teenagers in Eastern Europe and gender-confused business men in Eastern Asia. Only joking, Glen is whinging about the exact same shit he’s been whinging about for the past 15 years and Markéta is still sitting around looking forlorn.

With regards to the lyrical content ask yourself this; if Glen Hansard has been this sincerely heartbroken since the first Frames album in 1992, wouldn’t he have removed his own ginger smear of an existence from this mortal coil long ago? Arbitrary questions aside, Strict Joy is exactly what you want from a Glen Hansard and whatsherface album: It’s completely unchallenging in any way, it’s inundated with sentimentality and it all sounds like a parody of bad Van Morrison B-sides from the 70’s (the ones which The Frames haven’t already done covers of).

In fairness though it’s all very competent and the inclusion of a more diverse backing band goes a long way to ensuring that it doesn’t sound that much like The Frames. In terms of general composition the slow building melodies and all those strings and keys do create a great sense of ambience with which to bore yourself with.

Don’t forget though that the main selling point of Strict Joy is that people can pretend Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard were playing themselves in Once and that in the end they actually didn’t break up and stayed together *that was a spoiler* and are having slow, passionate, yet respectful sex, in between churning out these deeply moving albums.

In reality she dumped Glen’s orange arse back in January but the sly bitch knows a good meal ticket when she sees one, so they’re sticking together to tour the world singing romantic songs to lonely people.

Fuck them.

- Stephen Tuohy

Harsh? Have a butchers at this and see for yourself...