Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - The Swell Season

Stop me if you've heard this one before. (Irish) boy meets girl; falls in love with girl; cannot be with girl and teams up with another girl to put music to his anguish over a backdrop of delicate strings and twinkling piano. Should I go on? Okay, maybe that's a little unfair. This is by no means the most avant-garde concept from a Frames-less Glen Hansard and his new Czech accomplice, but it's by no means a bad album. Hansard's voice impresses throughout, at times (Falling Away and the folksy Drown Out) mimicking Cat Stevens. The instrumental title track showcases the classically trained Irglova's precision whilst suggesting it could be utilised to greater effect on certain tracks (When Your Mind's Made Up). Album closer Alone Apart stands out, with Irglova as crystal clear anything we've heard from Beth Gibbons. Certainly not awe inspiring, but not wholly uninspiring either. [Finbarr Bermingham]