Even those allergic to musicals may be won over by Once, a tender-hearted Irish romance with songs by Czech Republic–born Markéta Irglová and Frames frontman Glen Hansard. (The film's director, John Carney, actually used to play bass in the group.) The trick here is that Irglová and Hansard also play the leads; because their characters are shown busking, writing music, or rehearsing, the songs are smoothly integrated in the film. The overall acoustic mood won't surprise fans of the Frames--some tracks ("Say It to Me," "When Your Mind's Made Up") have even popped up on the band's albums, though the arrangements are more pared-down here, befitting the scruffy, street-musician setting. Being the lesser-known entity, Irglová feels like a revelation; she sounds a bit like a folkie Björk on "If You Want Me," and her song "The Hill" is downright heartbreaking. Irglová and Hansard had already made the 2006 album The Swell Seasontogether, so their collaboration here feels really organic--they sound particularly good together on the title track, for instance. Now that's the kind of magic you want from musicals. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

Glen Hansard of The Frames and Swell Season fame will release his debut solo album on June 19th via ANTI- Records. Entitled Rhythm and Repose, the 11-track effort was produced by Doveman (aka Thomas Bartlett), and features contributions from Swell Season cohort Marketa Irglova, composer Nico Muly, and half of Bruce Springsteen’s current horn section.

Collector's Edition CD/DVD Includes 2 extra tracks and DVD featuring "The Real Life End - A Story on the Making of ONCE" and live performances by the film stars Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

This Wild Willing is Glen Hansard’s fourth solo album. Written and created in Paris, France with a band of brothers; new friends and old, more than 24 musicians collaborating on the album. From his partners in The Frames (Joe Doyle) and Swell Season (Marketa Irglova & Joe Doyle), to his touring family of players , to three Iranian brothers he met in Paris (the Kroshravesh brothers) , Glen brought together a group of global talents who each left an indelible mark on this recording. “It became quickly apparent in the studio we were onto something interesting. I was finding new ways into the existing songs and we were improvising new ideas every day. When you surround yourself with great musicians and do your best to keep up, stay loose, give little direction, and allow everyone to bring what they bring, something transformative may happen. This collection of songs is mainly made up of those that came through while improvising and following the melodic lines and threads. Sometimes when you take a small musical fragment and you care for it, follow it, and build it up slowly, it can become a thing of wonder. In this sense, some of these songs weren’t written in the traditional form; they were ideas followed to a conclusion. I want to thank all these great musicians for coming and giving these songs their best. All a song wants is to be heard. I hope something in this music can be of use to you. I know it’s been of great use to me to make it. Beauty is in the ear of the behearer.”

We couldn’t be happier to announce the new Glen Hansard album Didn’t He Ramble, due out September 18th. You can watch the video for the new single “Winning Streak” now on NPR Music First Watch.
Place your pre-order for Didn’t He Ramble on CD or Vinyl from ANTI- Records, digitally via iTunes, or through Amazon now and you’ll get the first track “Winning Streak” instantly.

Glen Hansard发行致敬EP，怀念他两年前去世的好友Jason Molina(aka Songs: Ohia)。
On March 17, Glen Hansard will release ‘It Was Triumph We Once Proposed…Songs of Jason Molina,’ an EP of material in tribute to his friend and colleague Jason Molina. Jason Molina is the revered singer-songwriter behind the project Songs:Ohia, who passed away two years ago this March.
All profits will be donated to a charity in Molina’s honor.
Of ‘It Was Triumph We Once Proposed…Songs of Jason Molina,’ Hansard explains, “Jason Molina was a hero and a friend, I wrote him my first fan letter, I always loved his music and singing these songs is the only way to make sense of losing him.”
The EP also features their friends, the musicians Jeff Panall, Jennie Benford and Dan and Rob Sullivan. These four had known Molina since his days at Oberlin and had toured and performed with him on such key recordings as ‘Didn’t It Rain’ and ‘Magnolia Electric Co.’ Rob Bochnik joined this core group for the recording session with Glen.

电影《国旗日》的故事根据Jennifer Vogel撰写的回忆录《荒唐之人：我父亲假冒人生的故事》改编，讲述女儿拼命抗拒她的骗子父亲给她的遗产，这项遗产充满了父亲的爱意但又十分黑暗，该片由Jez Butterworth担任编剧。