Glen Hansard, ‘This Gift’ – Song Review

Listen, Glen Hansard is melodramatic, treacly, and earnest. Painfully earnest. Usually embarrassingly earnest.

And in other news, salt is salty.

‘This Gift’ is the newest track released from the Irish songman’s latest album, ‘Rhythm and Repose,’ and the featured song for Disney’s upcoming family flick ‘The Odd Life of Timothy Green.’ It’s also a crash course on how to ensnare a listener’s softie side using pop music as a hooked cane: triumphant chorus repeated ad nauseum, check; tropes about being “lifted up” or what not, check; a children’s choir — whoa mama — check.

Opening with a few thick piano chords before Hansard joins in with all his furrow browed might, the song, like some Pied Piper of Hamelin, picks up instrument after instrument until Hansard is being trailed along by a battlefield snare, a lady warbling his lyrics back at him, some kind of a lute thing, some kind of twinkling thing, and, yep, there’s that children’s choir singing about, like, hearts blossoming or some nonsense.

You know what, though? We’re not going to be mad at our washing machines because they won’t play Blu-Rays, and we’re not going to ask Glen Hansard to be anything other than Glen Hansard. Syrup merchants don’t get much better than him.

Listen to Glen Hansard, ‘This Gift’

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.