Music Review
The Swell Season
Barbican Hall 3 June 2008
A review bySimon Clancy for EXTRA! EXTRA!
Songs from heartfelt Indie film Once, which captivated audiences on its release late last year, make the troublesome transition from screen to stage as Czech-born singer Markéta Irglová joins Glen Hansard and assembled members of his Irish band, The Frames, in an intimate two-hour slot at the Barbican. Talk about self-reflexivity, post-postmodernism, or whatever you want to call it (I like Twilight-Zoney-ness). Hansard and Irglová, the spine of this second incarnation of The Frames, also took the lead roles in the aforementioned alternative-folk musical – playing two lost souls drawn together by their love of music – and now they’re back playing together in real life. It’s the kind of freakish blurring of reality and fiction that saw a Spinal Tap reunion tour in the early 90s. The main difference here, of course, is Hansard and Irglová have genuine talent at their disposal – displayed in a deluge of soaring, acoustic-driven epics – and ought to be taken very seriously indeed (when Hansard isn’t charming the audience with comical meanderings between songs, that is). From opening number ‘Say It To Me Now,’ which the dainty Irishman plays entirely unplugged, through to the end of a satisfying, lengthy set, each track is performed with guts and genuine emotion. Highlights inevitably include the award-winning ‘Falling Slowly,’ a beautiful ballad on the pitfalls of relationships, while the relatively upbeat ‘When Your Mind’s Made Up’ also gets the blood pumping during its pulsating climax. A lush version of The Frames’ ‘Star Star’ also stands out, along with new-track ‘Happiness.’ The only real criticism to be levelled at this talented bunch stems from the lack of variety in their mainly melancholic acoustic ballads. Undoubtedly, there’s not a lot to separate The Swell Season from the likes of Damien Rice either, and next to the throaty yet tender vocals of Hansard, Irglová can seem an ordinary singer at times. Ultimately, though, this was a memorable night, one that has me eagerly flicking through The Frames’ back catalogue.
Barbican Centre
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