When she was 18 years old, Markéta Irglová won an Oscar for composing the theme of the movie Once. She continued to perform with a co-star from the film as part of a group called The Swell Season. Now 23, Markéta Irglová has released her first solo album, Anar.
Irglová’s music is beautiful. She provides the two pillars which hold up this album — its simple, yet elegant piano melodies, and its soaring, swaying vocals. Amazing backup vocals and other instruments support the songs, but it’s clear from the start that this album is a showcase of Markéta Irglová’s talent for writing and performing.
Sadly, Irglová’s vocals are often too soft and too quiet to be understood clearly. Save for that, everything else about the album is magnificent and admittedly the soft vocals fit with the tone of the album.
The music is all written from a deeply emotional place. The simplest observations of the world around us become more beautiful, more sublime when paired with such music. The songs “We Are Good” and “Go Back” are amazing displays of Irglová’s artistic talent. Also impressive is “Dokhtar Goochani,” a song written in Iranian. I don’t really know any better way to describe this album but as absolutely wonderful, from start to finish.