Irish singer and The Frames guitarist Glen Hansard has released a video for a new song “Cold Comfort,” as well as a video for his song “Good Life of Song,” from his 2019 album This Wild Willing. “Cold Comfort” was written by Hansard as a reflection of his time quarantining during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Cold Comfort” is a delicate and light song that allows Hansard’s soft vocals to shine through as the focus of the song. The accompanying visuals, which appear to be shot with an old home video camera, add a sense of nostalgia and family to the video, which fits perfectly with the idea of the song. The visuals show the viewer around Hansard’s household, as he reflects, “there’s little comfort I know/ but it’s raining down on everybody now,” and urges listeners to cling to connections to help get through this pandemic.

Like “Cold Comfort,” “Good Life of Song” is slow and tender, and allows Hansard’s truly unique voice to be the focal point of the song. The visuals for the song are partly taken from the footage of The Camino Voyage, a film about a journey at sea from the coast of Ireland to Spain. The open expanses of water reflect the opens of the song, as simple instrumental accompaniments allow for feelings of emptiness that reflects the feelings felt by the voyagers at sea.

“I wrote this song in Paris while in residence at the Irish Cultural Centre,” Hansard explains. “It’s a tribute to the life of bards and troubadours on their lifelong march through the towns and villages of the world, singing and drinking, expressing the sorrows and the joys of the age as they court darkness and light with equal knowing. A song of gratitude for the gift of singing. I raise it here to the memory of our boat captain Danny Sheehy.”

Hansard is set to tour North America in the fall of this year with his band The Flames to celebrate their 30th anniversary, but the tour will likely be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Photo Credit: Alyssa Fried