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The Swell Season
Strict Joy
By Jessica Lewis
They've done it. The Swell Season, the Oscar-winning international duo of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, have found a way to make the most uncomfortable moments in a relationship comfortable. Packed with so much emotion but still bearable, Strict Joy captures the ups and mostly downs of what many know as "it's complicated." It could be heartbreaking, as in "The Rain," where Hansard and Irglova sing, "I know we're not where I promised you we'd be by now, but maybe it's a question of who'd want it anyhow?" but then the soft bass and rising chorus kick in and it's hard to see where any problems started. Hansard and Irglova enlisted the Frames, other assorted guests and acclaimed producer Peter Kadis to give the album a filled-room feel, so Strict Joy is definitely different from what fans might be used to on the Once soundtrack or previous recordings. No need to worry, because not one song is underwhelming. From the chilling, Irglova-fronted "Fantasy Man" and the big band pushed to the limit "High Horses," all the way through relationship tremors to a calm settlement in "Back Broke," where Hansard quietly sings, "Cause it's clear you still want me," Strict Joy delivers its namesake.
Why did you name the album after a poem?
Hansard: It conjures up discomfort and this idea of I won't suffer. The poem reflects on the idea that we go into ourselves and if we do a good job in the exploration and the confession, that if we do a decent job of it, something good can come of it, because truth is always something very valuable to the people, even if it's not their truth, just a truth. To go and mine in the darkness of your soul and pull things apart and just explore, sometimes there is wonder and beautiful things in there but you pull out the coal and sometimes there are diamonds. That's the idea of the recurring line, because the poet makes grief beautiful.
How did you get the fuller sound?
Irglova: The band had been touring with us anyway before we went into the studio. I like the fact that everybody sings. A lot of the songs on the album, everybody gets a chance to sing on them. There's something really exciting about all the voices coming together as one. And so, for me, that's a lovely part of the music that I make with the band. (Anti)
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Do Make Say Think - Other Truths
Though they've never been predictable, twisting and turning down a veering path of whatever post-rock is supposed to be, Do Make Say Think strike a reflective tone on the wondrous Other Truths. By their own reckoning, Do Make's previous acclaimed record, You, You're a History in Rust,
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Alec Ounsworth - Mo Beauty
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah front-man Alec Ounsworth will have released two albums by the end of this year. In August, he released the debut album from his Flashy Python project, a gritty, bass-heavy garage album characterized by his signature musical looseness and ramshackle production. When producer
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A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head
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Abernethy - The World Outside The Window
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After the Weather - By Flashing Lights and True Love
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The Black Crowes - Before The Frost…
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Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer
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Broken Bricks - Pasquale
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Clientele - Bonfires On The Heath
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Darlings - Yeah I Know
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David Bazan - Curse Your Branches
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Dead Man's Bones - Dead Man’s Bones
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Dishwasher / Cotton Mouth - Dishwasher / Cotton Mouth
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Early Day Miners - The Treatment
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Experimental Dental School - Forest Field
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The Fresh & Onlys - Grey-Eyed Girls
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Fun. - Aim and Ignite
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Girl Loves Distortion - You Better Run, Your Highness
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Grass - Rogue Waves
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Grooms - Rejoicer
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The Happy Hollows - Spells
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Julie Fader - Outside In
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Kill the Lights - Fog Area
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La Roux - La Roux
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Left Lane Cruiser - All You Can Eat
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Liam Finn & Eliza Jane - Champagne In Seashells
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Lights - Rites
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Lou Barlow - Goodnight Unknown
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Lou Barlow - Goodnight Unknown
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Manvils - The Manvils
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Matthew Good - Vancouver
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Mocky - Saskamodie
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Moneen - The World I Want To Leave Behind
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Music Go Music - Expressions
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Music Go Music - Expressions
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Nutsak - Failed Musician
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Octoberman - Fortresses
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Picastro - Become Secret
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Polvo - In Prism
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Reigning Sound - Love and Curses
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Rubik - Dada Bandits
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So Cow - So Cow
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Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat Radio
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The Temper Trap - Conditions
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Times New Viking - Born Again Revisited
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The Twilight Sad - Forget the Night Ahead
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Various - Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy
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White Rainbow - New Clouds
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Why? - Eskimo Snow
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Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
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York Redoubt - York Redoubt
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Check out the hottest new releases in Canada this week, including: 50 Cent Before I Self-Destruct, Boris Japanese Heavy Rock Hits #2 7", Kid Sister Ultraviolet, Norah Jones The Fall, Stereophonics Keep Calm and Carry On...
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