| Strict Joy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 23, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | Late 2008–2009 | |||
| Studios | Tarquin, Bridgeport, Connecticut | |||
| Genre | Indie folk | |||
| Labels | Plateau (Ireland), Anti- (Europe & North America) | |||
| Producers | Glen Hansard, Peter Katis | |||
| The Swell Season chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| American Music Channel | |
| Blare Magazine | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B |
| Pitchfork | 6.5/10 |
| Spin | |
Strict Joy is the second album by the Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová). It was released in Ireland on October 23, 2009, the rest of Europe on October 26, and on October 27 in North America on the Anti- record label. The title of the album was derived from a 1931 book of poems written by Irish poet James Stephens.
The album reached number 15 on the Billboard 200.
"In These Arms", the first single from the album was released on iTunes on August 18, 2009, and began streaming on spinner.com during the same week.
The Swell Season performed six of the new songs on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert on the August 10th show.
Special edition live disc
Special edition DVD (One Step Away - Live from the Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI. May 8, 2008)
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 88 |
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) | 30 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) | 19 |
| UK Independent Albums (Official Charts) | 29 |
| US Billboard 200 | 15 |
| US Folk Albums (Billboard) | 3 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) | 1 |
| US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) | 4 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) | 5 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) | 5 |