The Swell Season announce first LP in 16 years, share “Stuck in Reverse”

The Swell Season, the duo of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, shared their first new song since 2023, “People We Used To Be,” in March, and now they’ve announced a new album. Forward is their first album in 16 years, due out on June 13 via Masterkey Sounds & Plateau Records. It was produced by Sturla Mio Thorisson and recorded with original Swell Season musicians Marja Gaynor and Bertrand Galen (strings) and Joseph Doyle (bass), and newcomer Piero Perelli (drums and percussion). See the cover art and tracklist below.

“It felt right to title the record Forward because it’s a reunion of sorts, but we’re not going backwards,” Irglová says. “Both of us have grown and changed; we’re in different places and getting to know each other again as the new people we’ve become.”

“After our whirlwind that led up to the Oscars and after, we were so busy and with that came a pressure that neither of us particularly wanted, and ultimately we kind of drifted in the middle of all of that hard work and celebration,” Hansard adds. “We remained good friends, helping on each other’s records, keeping up with each other’s families. While touring my last record, I realized I just missed her. I remember calling Marketa and saying, ‘Do you feel like doing some gigs?’ She said, ‘Yeah, that sounds great,’ and the shows went really well. Once we were hanging out again, new songs started coming through, and we started trying new ideas and playing the songs onstage. From there the idea was to do a little recording and not put any pressure on it, just see what happens, and suddenly we found ourselves making a record. And we were both totally into it, and so here we are, a new chapter of our lives.”

They’ve shared a second single, “Stuck in Reverse,” and you can watch the video, directed and produced by Anthony Mulcahy, below. “In any situation of letting go, moving on is clearly the right and natural thing to do,” Hansard says. “This song speaks to that part of us that can’t quite get there. The moment just before complete acceptance.”

The Swell Season will be on tour this year, with North American shows in the summer, including NYC’s Kings Theatre on July 26. See all dates below.

THE SWELL SEASON – FORWARD TRACKLIST
1. Factory Street Bells
2. People We Used To Be
3. Stuck In Reverse
4. I Leave Everything To You
5. A Little Sugar
6. Pretty Stories
7. Great Weight
8. Hundred Words

THE SWELL SEASON: 2025 TOUR DATES
5/13 – Amsterdam, NL – Koninklijk Theater Carré
5/14 – Antwerp, BG – De Roma
5/16 – Köln, DE – Stadthalle Köln-Mülheim Jülich GmbH
5/17 – Hamburg, DE – CCH – Congress Center Hamburg
5/19 – Berlin, DE – Admiralspalast
5/20 – Vienna, AUT – Wiener Konzerthaus
5/21 – Prague, CZ – Forum Karlín
5/23 – Kraków, POL – Klub Studio
5/24 – Warszawa, POL – Klub Stodoła
5/25 – Brno, CZ – Sono Centrum
5/28 – London, UK – Royal Festival Hall
5/29 – Gateshead, UK – The Glasshouse
5/31 – Dublin, IE – National Concert Hall
6/01 – Dublin, IE – National Concert Hall
7/11 – Vienna, VA – Wolf Trap
7/12 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre
7/13 – Indianapolis, IN – Murat Theatre
7/15 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater
7/16 – Minneapolis, MN – Orpheum Theatre
7/18 – Chicago, IL – Auditorium Theatre
7/19 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
7/21 – Toronto, ON – Massey Hall
7/23 – Rochester, NY – Kodak Center
7/25 – Northampton, MA – The Pines Theater
7/26 – Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre
7/29 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met
7/31 – Greenville, SC – Peace Center
8/01 – Durham, NC – Durham Performing Arts Center
8/02 – Atlanta, GA – The Woodruff Arts Center
9/09 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory
9/10 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre
9/12 – Dallas, TX – The Majestic Theater
9/13 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater
9/15 – Santa Fe, NM – Lensic Performing Arts Center
9/16 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Arts Center (Ikeda Theater)
9/19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
9/20 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
9/22 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
9/23 – Vancouver, BC – The Orpheum Theatre
9/24 – Seattle, WA – The Paramount Theatre