The Swell Season Share First New Song in Over 10 Years

"The Answer Is Yes" arrives ahead of a tour celebrating their Oscar-winning film 'Once'

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Jun 26, 2023

The Swell Season have returned with a new song, ahead of celebrating 15 years of their Oscar-winning film Once on tour this summer.

"The Answer Is Yes," which marks the first material from Markéta Irglová and Glen Hansard in over a decade, can be heard below alongside a video that captures the song's recording session in Iceland.

"Glen and I had been talking about releasing new music prior to our upcoming US tour," Irglová shares. "I wanted to write a beautiful duet for us to sing together each night. Something that felt right for the time and place; deeply personal and yet widely universal. Something that summarized our journey through the past 20 years, paying tribute to all that once was and celebrating all that now is."

Hansard adds, "We came together and as we're working thru old songs the chances for new songs became almost inevitable. Creatively, Marketa's in a place that reminds me of Joni, where she speaks very honest and clearly. Which can be quite intimidating, but is a wonderful contrast to how I write. For me, the ideas that bubble up to the surface when we're together are the ones she's meant to be part of."

Hansard and Irglová embark on their Once anniversary tour this August, and while no Canadian shows have been included on the run, you can find their complete list of tour dates here

Last year, the Swell Season reunited for six US shows, a run that marked their first tour together in 11 years. The duo's most recent album remains 2009's Strict Joy.

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