As I previously posted, there's always been a bittersweet aspect to The Swell Season's music. Part of the group's appeal was the romantic chemistry between co-founders Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, as documented in the semi-biographical film, Once. However, Hansard and Irglová split up as a couple back in January 2009, although they continued to perform together in the band, producing a poignant yet mature body of songs exploring love and its aftermath.
At least until a man jumped to his death during one of their concerts in California last Thursday, landing on an on-stage speaker just a few feet from Hansard.
Now Hansard and Irglová have announced that their musical careers will take them their separate ways, at least for a brief period of time. Although The Swell Season will continue to perform concerts in Europe through this fall, Hansard told Spinner.com, "This band will eventually naturally end." The Frames, Hansard's original band, have recently announced a handful of upcoming concerts, and Irglová may be recording a solo album.
Update: The next day, Glen Hansard posted a Twitter message saying, "If anyone is going to announce the end of The Swell Season, it'll be us. Forget what anyone else says. . . We're not breaking up. . ." So I guess I'll stop writing about this story, at least until the smoke clears.
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