Glen Hansard: All That Was East Is West Of Me Now (LP)

Not many indie folk heroes have won an Oscar or laid the groundwork for a successful stage musical, but Glen Hansard is an artist who can pull off both. As a member of the Frames and the Swell Season, Hansard has been praised for his intelligent and passionate songwriting and nuanced vocals, and he has received similar accolades as a solo artist. Hansard first gained an audience for his smooth but haunting indie rock as a member of The Frames, before rising to international fame with fellow singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová in the duo The Swell Season, whose emotionally open, mainly acoustic indie folk became the centerpiece of the award-winning independent romantic drama "Once". Following his 2012 solo debut "Rhythm and Repose", Hansard has shown a stylistic diversity by indulging in the sound of 70s singer/songwriters on "Didn't He Ramble" (2015), vintage soul on "Between Two Shores" (2018) and an eclectic swing between subtle folk and loud indie rock on "This Wild Willing" (2019). Now Glen Hansard presents "All That Was East Is West Of Me Now", his first solo album in 5 years. The album demonstrates the Oscar-winning singer-songwriter's unique ability to blend Irish folk with modern rock and the punch of his storied live shows, about which The Guardian says: "Hansard's powerful voice, whether raw with passion or tender with regret, shines over arrangements that bristle with exuberance".