The Swell Season Essentials

This is the story of a hard-working busker and a soft-spoken singer/songwriter who fall in love and end up making sweet music together—and no, it isn't just the plot of 2007's Once. The film's stars, The Frames' Glen Hansard and Czech musician Markéta Irglová, first set their intimate folk-pop to record as The Swell Season on their 2006 debut, and many of its songs—including lush acoustic/piano heartbreakers "Falling Slowly" and "Lies"—give Once its earnest charm. By their second album, Strict Joy, the pair had split romantically, giving tracks like the vintage, soul-touched "Low Rising" a bittersweet elegance.