It is hard to believe that the Czech native we took to our hearts a half a decade ago in the charming indie movie, Once (where she co-starred with Glen Hansard) is just 23 years old. Following her hugely successful collaboration with Hansard in The Swell Season (not to mention that Acadamy Award) she has, for the moment, opted to go it alone.
Her solo debut Anar (the Persian word for pomegranate) is not only a Glen-free zone, it has no Irish input whatsoever. Recorded in Chicago, with producer/engineer Tim Iseler (now Irglova’s husband), the backdrop is sparse. It mainly consists of Irglova’s piano and voice, with the occasional wash of strings or stab of brass, over a light rhythm section.
The songs, written after she’d relocated to New York in the summer of 2010, offer a fascinating insight into her emotional state at the time. There are certainly no shortage of autobiographical vignettes and no little soul-searching within the lyrics, which at times read like diary entries. For example, on ‘For Old Times Sake’ she reflects, “We had something good, it did not last, let’s not be constantly re-living the past,” while on ‘Only In Your Head’ she muses that, “Things would have worked out better, if it wasn’t for the fear.”
It’s all exquisitely done of course, with Irglova’s voice combining the fragile delicacy of Natalie Merchant, with hints of Sandy Denny and Feist among others. The mellow love song, ‘Your Company’ – a slow waltz with a gorgeous melody – bathes in the warm glow of a new relationship, while the equally lush ‘Wings Of Desire’ could be an outtake from Joni Mitchell’s Blue. Elsewhere, the extended instrumental and percussion workouts on ‘Crossroads’ and ‘Last Fall’ (featuring Aida Shahghasemi, the Iranian drummer and vocalist) work less well. However, the standout track, ‘Go Back’ finds her stretching out into a soulful mode with Stax style brass section, call and response vocals and a nagging rhythm.
Anyone looking for another ‘Falling Slowly’ or the more collaborative ensemble playing of The Swell Season have come to the wrong place. There’s a sometimes frustrating lack of instrumental variation across the album. Still as an artistic statement, it’s a bold first move.