Irish troubadour Glen Hansard has always been a prolific artist, but with Rhythm and Repose, he’s finally a solo act. The Frames’ frontman and half of indie darling duo The Swell Season, Hansard has had many collaborators to hone his explosive, expressive voice. With Repose, his first true solo effort, Hansard consolidates the dramatic stylings and quiet turns of his day bands’ work, rather than expand them. Hansard sounds like his face appears on the album cover, anxious and unable to focus. The album’s first half sets an ominous tone, capped by “The Storm, It’s Coming,” which bursts with stormy guitars and painfully restless vocals. The rest of the record is a slow burn set to piano and acoustic guitar, allowing a creeping misery to seep through every sound. Hansard’s gloomy tales are as harrowing as they are beautiful, though, and his defiant voice keeps the trouble at bay, at least while the song is still spinning.
Grade: B+
 
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