Now even NPR is getting on the Celestial Jukebox bandwagon. Their website is offering the newest release by "Once" stars The Swell Season (aka Glenn Hansard and Markita Irglova) available for listening "in its entirety" via streaming audio.
Go to NPR.org to Listen To The Entire Album
Moody and frequently spare, Strict Joy gives Hansard and
Irglova room to breathe and seethe, particularly in sad, brooding
ballads such as "Low Rising," "Paper Cup" and "Back Broke." But, as on
any Hansard-related project, the gloom is offset by a generous helping
of big-hearted emotionalism. In "Feeling the Pull," he and Irglova pine
for a world beyond the boundaries that surround them; even when he's
feeling paranoid in "The Verb," they couch his worries in rich
harmonies that grow increasingly warm and sweet. As on the Once
soundtrack, Irglova gets a few opportunities to seize the spotlight
("Fantasy Man," "I Have Loved You Wrong"), but she's most often
utilized for her ability to add subtle shading, in the form of her
piano work and gentle backing vocals.