Once upon a time there was a little girl and a little boy. They met Once by accident. They met twice by accident. They met thrice on purpose. And they lived happily ever after.

Ok, bear with me here kiddos. I know all of you just read that and thought, “What happened to Julia’s brain?” (This is your brain on swine). But I have a point, I promise. Hands up, all of you who have seen the movie Once. And hands up, all of you who thought it kicked butt better than Ali. There better be the same number of hands in the air as before! In any case, for you sorely deprived movie goers who prefer cheesy horror to indie chic, Once is a out-of-the-way romance directed and written by John Carney, made in 17 days and on a less than Hollywood budget. The film follows the not-quite-love-story of the (unnamed) main characters, and features original music written by genius pair The Swell Season.

In the film, Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard (who plays the male lead) and Czech singer/songwriter Marketa Irglova (the female lead) collaborate on some absolutely fantastical music that forms the basis of the movie’s plot, well, sort of plot-like thing. It’s difficult to explain. I actually heard the music from the movie long before I ever saw it, and I was absolutely head-over-heels hooked by “Falling Slowly,” until I saw the movie, when I fell even further head-over-stomach-over-knees-over-heels in love with it. It won an Oscar by the way.

In case you are confused, The Swell Season is the pseudonym for singer/songwriters Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, whose collaborative efforts have just produced a third album, released Oct. 27. Unfortunately, the heartbreak lyrics may signal the end of The Swell Season for now (it certainly signals the end of Hansard’s and Irglova’s romance), but it doesn’t make the album any less beautiful. In fact, it probably adds to its power — if the point is to make you sad, the music does so, and the idea of a Swell Season break-up just makes it all the worse.

The Swell Season has a really wonderfully, raw-pretty folk sound. Hansard sounds scratchy and angry but softly so, and his gravelly voice complements Irglova’s breathy but in-your-face soprano unexpectedly well. As usual, Hansard plays guitar, while Irglova rocks the piano, but on their new album, entitled Strict Joy, there is also quite the back-up section, including violin, drums, bass, a horn section and an extra guitar. The band adds layers to Swell Season’s simplicity without overwhelming the vocal majesty. You can hear in every song how much the pair loves making music, as you could see in the film. See the film, people.

The electric guitar on the first track “Low Rising” is a pretty significant step away from what we’re used to from The Swell Season, and it brings the song closer to folk rock than its usual indie folk. The pair embrace this new genre sub-category well however, alternating the more brazen sound (which showcases Hansards “I’m pissed” vocals) with their traditional beautiful folk, ultimately providing you with music that soothes and energizes at the same time. And I’m pretty sure all of us Cornellians could use both some soothing and some energizing.

The album’s single “In These Arms,” will sound much more familiar to Once fans: gentle vocals, acoustic guitar, tranquil harmonies, etc. One of the great things about this song (and most of the songs from the Once soundtrack) is that it simply sings about life. It is, as Hansard describes it, “an audio diary.” The music is beautiful and sorrowful because it speaks to the end of a romance. It is not trying to get some message across, not trying to be profound — it is expressing life through song. I love that. And you should too, eh?