Glen Hansard Announces New Album This Wild Willing For April 2019 Release

Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard will be releasing his fourth, solo studio album This Wild Willing on April 12th through ANTI- Records. The folk artist also revealed the leading track for the album, “I’ll Be You, Be Me.”

This Irishman has built his reputation over the years from being the frontman of the indie-rock band The Frames, starring in the film Once that won him an Academy Award for Best Original Song “Falling Slowly” and creating a folk-rock duo alongside Once co-star Markéta Irglová. These moments in his life have helped shape and influence the songs on his upcoming project.

In a press release about the album, Hansard stated “this collection of songs is mainly made up of those that came through while improvising and following the melodic lines and threads.” He continues, “sometimes when you take a small musical fragment and you care for it, follow it and build it up slowly, it can become a thing of wonder.”

In the lead single “I’ll Be You, Be Me,” Hansard isn’t afraid to express vulnerability through vocals and orchestral instruments. Hansard’s vocals are restrained to a stark whisper, as the instruments gradually build up as the song progresses. Fans of his solo work will quickly realize this is a stylistic difference from his previous solo work, such as 2018 album Between Two Shores, but is reflective of his early work with The Frames.

The new album was recorded at Black Box studios in Paris alongside producer David Odlum, and was constructed through different waves of experimentation and various collaborations. Hansard was able to garner collaborators all across the board, including the classically-trained Khoshravesh brothers, Joe Doyle on bass, ROMY on piano, vocals, and string arrangements and even the Dublin-based electronic musicians Deasy and Dunk Murphy.

Check out the audio for the leading single “I’ll Be You, Be Me” and a full album tracklist while waiting for the April release.

This Wild Willing Tracklist:

1. I’ll Be You, Be Me
2. Don’t Settle
3. Fools Game
4. Race To The Bottom
5. The Closing Door
6. Brother’s Keeper
7. Mary
8. Threading Water
9. Weight of the World
10. Who’s Gonna Be Your Baby Now
11. Good Life Of Song
12. Leave A Light

Photo taken by Alyssa Fried