Since I got into The Swell Season (especially his vocals), I've been wanting to check out the Frames, but with at least half a dozen albums I don't know where to start.

How did your new solo album come together?
I took a year off from touring and moved to New York, and I ended up hanging out with my friend Thomas [Bartlett]. We jammed a couple of things one night at a session he runs called the Burgundy Stain Sessions, down at Le Poisson Rouge on Bleecker Street. I was kind of fooling around, and it sounded really good, so I said, "Why don't we go into the studio and try some things out?" It was very, very mellow. This was the easiest record I've ever made. It was all done in this really leisurely fashion – you know, it wasn't a tortured process. I didn't go off, have a nervous breakdown then write a bunch of songs. That's why I called the album Rhythm and Repose, because I'm beginning to believe that rest is as important as work.

Before you took that break, you'd been touring and recording with the Swell Season for a long time.
It was pretty much five years. I mean, we were busy before the Oscars [in February 2008], but after that it got super busy. I don't want to throw names off too much, but I remember sitting next to Bruce Springsteen, and he put things in perspective for me so, so well. He said, "When you have success, you need to mark it, even if it's opening a beer or a bottle of champagne or going to dinner with your family or taking a holiday. If you don't mark your success, then the day your ship comes in might just be another day at the office." And I remember thinking, "Jesus, that's so true!" Because what happened after the Oscars was we just started working harder. I have to admit, it wasn't really until I took that time off that I dealt with the whole thing.

This is technically your first solo album. Was it any different making a record on your own?
Yeah. It's a funny thing, you know. Making a record on your own, you wouldn't think it's that different, but Jesus, it's different! It's a big change. It sort of means that you're captaining every decision. Making this record was a real lesson to me. I'm actually surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

The first time I saw Jake Clemons, who plays some of the horn parts on the new album, was at a Swell Season show a few years ago. Have you seen him play with Bruce since he joined the E Street Band?
I'm really happy for him, and I think it's the perfect path. I think that path was open to him all the way, and it was really up to Jake whether he wanted to fill it. He had to really work hard – I mean, not only does he have to be as good as Clarence, he has to be as good as people's memory of Clarence. And he knows that there's no way to do that. But he's just such a beautiful dude that I'm so overjoyed for him. I've seen a couple of Bruce's shows since he joined the band, and Jesus – he's really standing up there and he's really doing it. He's never overstating the mark. He's always humbly nodding to his uncle. I have to say, I think they're doing it really, really well.

Are you excited to be getting back on the road for this album?
You know, I made this record all through last year, and it feels like it's been a really, really long run-up to its release. I'm really happy that it's finally coming out and that I get to do some gigs. I'll get to bring in some brass or some backing vocals, and I'm really enjoying sort of playing around with the lineup on this tour. It's exciting for me.

What I've heard so far is very good, but I much prefer The Frames and wish they'd do a new album. Still, Hansard has more than proven himself with Swell Season and his solo music. An extremely talented guy.

I think the only way there will ever be Swell Season music is if me and Mar end up hanging out. Right now, this second, we're living very separate lives. You know, who knows? The thing is, we really enjoy playing together, so that gravity still exists. I hope in time we get together and make some music, but for me, I need to go back and concentrate on the Frames for a while. Those guys deserve a fucking medal, man. I've been off doing my thing for so long. The boys are coming on tour with me this time, so I'm really looking forward to being onstage and doing sound checks and just getting to hang out with the lads and make music.

Pete, is there a particular Frames album that would be a good introduction? Since I got into The Swell Season (especially his vocals), I've been wanting to check out the Frames, but with at least half a dozen albums I don't know where to start.