As part of Amazon’s monthly $5 MP3 album deal for January 2013, Glen Hansard‘s Rhythm and Repose is on sale for only $5.00.

If you don’t know the name Glen Hansard, now is the time for you to get on board. Hansard is a founding member of The Frames and The Swell Season, the latter of which should ring a bell as the creative force behind the Tony Award winning musical and the Oscar winning film Once, as well as the film The Swell Season. He has long been synonymous for producing emotionally resonant folk-influenced singer-songwriter gems, and Rhythm and Repose fits right in with that description. Strong melodies on tracks like the opening “You Will Become” and “The Storm, It’s Coming” are paired with thoughtful lyrics and just the right amount of instrumentation. Hansard has a sound all his own, and if you’re a fan of poetic melody Rhythm and Repose is for you.

The Swell Season
DIRECTORS: Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins, Carlo Mirabella-Davis
STARRING: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
Seventh Art Releasing
RELEASE DATE: October 21, 2011 (limited)

Everyone has those movies they have a certain kind of special attachment to””movies that moved them, that struck an emotional chord, and left a lasting imprint.

For me, one of those movies was 2006’s Once, which tells the story of musician known only as “Guy” who works at his dad’s vacuum repair shop and makes a little extra coin by singing his songs on the streets of Ireland, and the young Czech girl he meets one day (fittingly dubbed “Girl”) who sells flowers and is also a musician. The two form a strong bond through their music and common troubles they have with former lovers, but, as they go on to collaborate on some incredible music together, each is unsure what it is they want in life and for their futures.

It’s a wonderful little story, and the fact that the film’s stars, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, are real musicians with little to no acting backgrounds whatsoever only adds to its charm. But it’s not really so much about the movie as it is the music. All the heart and soul of Once, the burning fire that fuels the story, it comes from its beautiful and eventual Oscar–winning music. And that’s why it’s a movie that is so important to me personally.

If you’ve never seen the indie hit Once, it’s a movie you simply have to see before you die. It’s a beautiful film with one of the greatest soundtracks ever made that tells the story of two musicians falling in love despite the complications in each of their own lives making things very difficult. And the reason the soundtrack is so good is because the two stars of Once, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, aren’t actors at all but actually very talented musicians, who were each awarded an Academy Award for their music in the film.

What those of you who have seen Once might not know, however, is that a real–life romance sparked and faded between the two and a new musical venture called The Swell Season was born.

Now it’s time for that story to be told in the new musical documentary also titled The Swell Season, which is making the festival rounds. You can see the trailer below now!