Rhythm And Repose

Glen Hansard | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: June 15, 2012
• Release Date: June 15, 2012
• Label: Anti/Epitaph
• Copyright: 2012 Plateau Records Ltd., Under Exclusive License To Anti, Inc.
• Record Company Required Metadata: Music file metadata contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
• Total Length: 46:43
• Genres:
  • Alternative Rock
• ASIN: B0088WJQ1G
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,878 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Quietly Intense Beauty -- Great Solo Album! June 19, 2012

By T. A. Daniel TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Just because the Swell Season is taking a break doesn't mean you shouldn't expect its members to keep making music. Marketa Irglova released her solo album, Anar, in 2011, and now it's Glen Hansard's turn. RHYTHM AND REPOSE offers a lot of what Swell Season fans love: heartbreaking lyrics, beautiful vocal delivery, and confident instrumentation. The biggest difference with this solo release is Hansard's delivery; this record is much quieter in its tone than the past two Swell Season albums.

RHYTHM AND REPOSE is an exercise in constrained, quiet beauty. The emotional, acoustic/stringed pattern that opening track "You Will Become," begins is a throughline that the album follows from start to finish. The song "High Hope" (along with the climax of "Bird of Sorrow,") showcases Hansard's raw vocal intensity. Irglova even appears on a handful of tracks to compliment with harmonies. This album isn't great become of what it adds, but rather, it's from what it's missing. By lending itself to a minimalist style, this collection of songs sounds confident and tasteful. The penultimate track "Philander," for example, has scarce instrumentation in the verse, making Hansard's quiet verses even more effective. If anything, RHYTHM AND REPOSE is remarkably consistent - there's not a bad song in the mix. This album further solidifies Hansard's stature as one of the best songwriters currently working. Like the Swell Season's catalog, Hansard's solo outing deserves more than one listen - repeated visits to RHYTHM AND REPOSE reveal nuance that go unnoticed the first few listens. It's a great album to close your eyes and drift away in.

Recommended for fans of the Swell Season (or any of Hansard's other work), Neutral Milk Hotel, M. Ward, or Damien Rice. Highlight songs to sample: "You Will Become," "Maybe Not Tonight," and "Philander." This has been one of my favorite listens of 2012. RHYTHM AND REPOSE is a great solo album - let's hope it finds the audience it deserves.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Man Alone June 19, 2012

By John Terry VINE™ VOICE

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

The front man for The Frames and The Swell Season drops his first new music since 2009 and his first proper solo album. A musician and artist first, Hansard has struggled to come to terms with the success and higher profile that a starring role in "Once" and an Oscar win for "Falling Slowly" brought him. After laboring for years with his highly regarded band, The Frames, he rejected the notion that he should be defined by a night at The Oscars. This doesn't mean he's been able to avoid the spotlight despite struggling for normalcy in his life. The documentary "The Swell Season" documented the struggles that he and Marketa Irglova went through dealing with sudden success and the quiet slow end to their romantic relationship. They managed to redefine their relationship and revel in the joy that making music together gave them. The Swell Season went on hiatus but the task of helping transform "Once' into a Broadway musical and retain it's musical integrity has kept the past very much in the present. "Rhythm And Repose" found it's inspiration in Hansard's time living in New York and helping bring "Once" to the stage. It's unusual in it's restrained presentation which should not be taken as the idea that Hansard's passion and intensity have been dialed down. It's just that the album seems to be written in the clear eyed light of day instead of the emotionally raw, late night hours. Hansard is still a man struggling with the complexities and perplexities of the human heart. He continues to stare unafraid at the emotional wreckage of failed relationships to find the truths they reveal. They give him the strength to deal with the here and now and the determination that tomorrow will be a better day. Hansard has always been a fearless warrior of the heart. He goes deep and gives a voice to experiences and emotions that few songwriters can even manage to put to paper. "You Will Become", "Bird Of Sorrow" and "The Storm, It's Coming" are stellar tracks. However, "High Hope" and "Song Of Good Hope" will stand with some of Hansard's finest works. "Song Of Good Hope" was written for a friend struggling with cancer. The gentle urging from Hansard to fight on, move forward and reach out for the help and warmth and love of a friend will have you drying your eyes and smiling at the same time. Glen Hansard is one of the finest songwriters working today if not of all time. Marketa Irglova and her Broadway counterpart Cristin Milioti contribute vocals to the album with musical support also coming from Nico Muhly, Sam Amidon and David Mansfield.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect piece of beauty and sadness June 20, 2012

By Antmusic Fan

Format:MP3 Music

Glen Hansard's new album ("Rhythm and Repose") is the kind of album to curl up and listen to with a glass of melancholic red wine.

I have found myself moved to tears over and over at the quiet beauty and sadness interwoven in the music of this album. Glen's voice and the strong-but-quiet bluesy guitar blend and create an experince I've been craving for more than I have ever known. It has been love at first listen.

I've never heard of Glen before purchasing this album based on Amazon's snippets, but he has quickly risen to the top of my go-to albums.

Thank you, sir.