Their
self-titled first album came about after Hansard and Irglová were approached by the Czech film director
Jan Hřebejk while touring in the
Czech Republic, and were asked by him to record songs for his upcoming film
Beauty in Trouble. It was the first album that Hansard, the singer for
The Frames, had released independently of his band. The tracks "
Falling Slowly" and "When Your Mind's Made Up" from their debut album, also appeared on The Frames' album
The Cost. These two tracks, along with "Lies" and "Leave" also from the debut album, all appear on the
Once movie soundtrack. Hansard and Irglová parodied their roles from
Once in
The Simpsons 2009 episode, "
In the Name of the Grandfather". A follow-up album,
Strict Joy, was released on 27 October 2009 in the United States. Three singles from the album were released: "In These Arms", "Low Rising", and "Feeling the Pull".
Spin Magazine's review of
Strict Joy gave the album 4 out of 5 stars. It stated "If
Glen Hansard's and
Markéta Irglová's roles in the hit Irish indie film
Once unintentionally wove the tale of their real-life falling in love, their second album as the Swell Season weaves the story of their falling out of it." In August 2010, The Swell Season covered
Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two-Headed Boy" for
The A.V. Club. At a concert on 19 August 2010 at the
Mountain Winery, Saratoga, a concert attendee leapt to his death from the roof of the venue onto the stage. The death was deemed a suicide. The band provided and paid for group counselling sessions for concert attendees who witnessed the event. From 2007 through 2010, a documentary film was made about Irglova and Hansard called
The Swell Season. The documentary premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival in June 2011 to positive reviews. In a December 2011 interview in the
Huffington Post with Irglová, she revealed that the Swell Season would probably release a third album when Hansard finished with other commitments, but no third album was made by the duo until years later. On 10 and 11 January 2015, The Swell Season reunited for two concerts at
Sejong Center to celebrate re-releasing
Once in South Korea. In 2021, Hansard confirmed to
Variety that The Swell Season would be playing six dates in the U.S in 2022. Seventeen further dates were announced for 2023. Also in 2023, they recorded a number of new songs in Markéta’s home studio in
Iceland, with the first one released being: "The Answer is Yes". On March 18, 2025 they announced a new song "People We Used to Be" along with a fan community called The Hoover Repair Club. They released a second single "Stuck in Reverse" on April 23, 2025. The two singles were featured on their new album entitled
Forward, which was released on July 11, 2025. ==Discography==