The Swell Season To Split After Tragedy

The news comes just days after a fan committed suicide onstage at a Swell Season show in Saratoga, California - but the tragedy has nothing to do with the parting.

Hansard has announced plans to rejoin his former band The Frames, while Irglova intends to record a solo album.

Irishman Hansard tells Spinner.com, "I'll go back to the Frames, and Mar will make her own record at some point. This band (Swell Season) will eventually naturally end. But right now, all of us are just so grateful.

"Getting together and making music with Mar was a side thing for me, but it felt absolutely right. I followed through on it even when it felt like I might've been abandoning my band a bit. But I had to follow through. I knew there was something in this that I had to follow through on."

And he has every faith that his Swell Season partner, once co-star and former lover will make every success of a solo career: "I love the way she writes. I think she's an incredible songwriter and I think she could make a really beautiful, beautiful record... I'm very, very proud of her."