Sondre Lerche

Sondre Lerche blends a close, affectionate vocal tone with a knack for crafting engaging pop songs that shift between bright optimism and quiet sadness. His sound draws from 1960s American pop, 1980s British alternative acts, and Brazilian styles he encountered during guitar lessons. The 2001 release of his well-received debut album Faces Down already revealed a taste for unexpected chord changes and an experimental streak that would keep appearing in later work. Across projects ranging from direct guitar-driven pop on Two Way Monologue in 2004 and understated jazz-pop on Duper Sessions in 2006 to concise, angular new-wave-tinged rock on Phantom Punch in 2007, his melodic sense and gift for intelligent, sincere songwriting stayed consistent. He also scored the 2007 comedy Dan in Real Life and the 2014 thriller The Sleepwalker while serving as a coach on the Norwegian version of The Voice. The sequence of Please in 2014, Pleasure in 2017, and Patience in 2020 addressed romantic themes through art-pop, bright synth-driven pop, and softer ambient textures in turn. Even during the worldwide pandemic his creative drive stayed active; he completed his most ensemble-oriented and richly textured record, Avatars of Love, in 2022 amid lockdown conditions.

Raised in Bergen, Lerche grew up listening to 1980s pop records belonging to his older siblings. Drawn to a-ha, the Beach Boys, and Elvis Costello, he started formal guitar study at age eight. When classical lessons proved unsatisfying, his instructor shifted him to Brazilian technique, and he began composing original material privately. At fourteen he wrote “Locust Girl,” the first song he considered worth recording. While still underage he played acoustic sets at the venue where his sister worked and was noticed by Norwegian producer HP Gundersen. Under Gundersen’s guidance Lerche encountered psychedelia, 1960s pop, and mainstream Brazilian music, widening his musical outlook. He also connected with Oslo manager Tatiana Penzo, which led to a contract with Virgin Norway. The EP You Know So Well appeared in February 2001 and its title track reached number two on the Norwegian singles chart. A second EP, No One’s Gonna Come, followed in June of that year, supported by local shows and growing industry attention.

Although the material for Faces Down was finished before winter 2000, its release waited until Lerche completed school obligations. In the meantime he received the Spellemannprisen for Best New Artist and opened for Beth Orton in Norway. Faces Down finally reached stores in Norway in September 2001 and later across Europe. He toured with several artists, including a memorable concert alongside a-ha in Oslo. The album arrived in the United States in October 2002, prompting his first extensive American tour. Fans received the live-and-studio EP Don’t Be Shallow the next year. For his second album, Two Way Monologue, issued in March 2004, Lerche adopted a more intimate approach while expanding the chamber-pop elements of the debut.

After moving to Brooklyn he explored a different direction, cutting a set of restrained, jazz-tinged songs with an acoustic version of his Faces Down band. Duper Sessions came out in 2006 and peaked at number five on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. While on tour that year with Elvis Costello, Lerche absorbed the veteran’s lively stage presence and rapport with his musicians, prompting him to write energetic rock material for the 2007 Tony Hoffer-produced Phantom Punch.

Film director Peter Hedges, an admirer of Lerche’s catalog, recruited him to compose the score for the 2007 movie Dan in Real Life, seeking a contemporary equivalent to Cat Stevens on Harold and Maude or Simon & Garfunkel on The Graduate. The soundtrack mixed older tracks with new recordings, among them the duet “Hell No” with Regina Spektor. In 2008 Lerche issued the tour-only CD-R EPs Polaroid Pool Party for West Coast dates and Polaroid Pumpkin Party for East Coast dates. Heartbeat Radio followed in 2009 as his first release on Rounder Records. He contributed “Dear Laughing Doubters” to the 2010 comedy Dinner for Schmucks and issued a self-titled album in 2011 that featured Midlake percussionist McKenzie Smith alongside Ådland’s production. The record launched his Mona Records imprint and introduced drummer Dave Heilman of Jupiter One, who would appear on many subsequent projects. Sondre Lerche entered the Norwegian album chart at number eight and later climbed to number six. The following January he began a three-season run as a mentor on Norway’s edition of The Voice.

Marking his thirtieth birthday in 2012, Lerche released his first live album, Bootlegs, and reissued his initial four studio albums on vinyl with extra tracks. That year Norway issued a postage stamp honoring him as part of a series spotlighting male pop artists. Before his next studio effort, Lerche and his wife of eight years separated, lending 2014’s Please a sharply personal tone. Co-produced by Lerche, Ådland, and Matias Tellez, the album also established a stable touring and recording unit of Heilman, bassist Chris Holm, and keyboardist Alexander von Mehren. The same year saw the release of the soundtrack Lerche and Ådland created for the independent thriller The Sleepwalker.

Although Lerche had long explored shifting styles, the lead single from his following album marked his most pronounced change yet. The synth-heavy club track “I’m Always Watching You,” issued in March 2017 on his rebranded PLZ label, pointed toward the entirely electronic sound of Pleasure. Positioned as the second chapter of a trilogy, it reunited the same production and performance team from Please. After relocating to Los Angeles and recording the Norwegian-language children’s album Er Det Morgen Nå? for television puppet character Fantorangen in 2018, Lerche issued the 2019 EP BRITNEY, which contained three Britney Spears covers plus the original “Slip into Character” recorded with the Silver Lake Chorus. Patience, the trilogy’s final installment, appeared in June 2020 and moved from playful glam rock to ornate orchestral ballads while featuring a collaboration with Van Dyke Parks.

Plans for a global tour were halted by the pandemic, so Lerche returned to Norway during the initial lockdowns. There he composed numerous new songs and, once restrictions eased mid-year, performed solo concerts across the country. Late in 2020 he began tracking material in local studios as soon as each song was finished. Producer Kato Ådland and members of his regular band contributed, and Sean O’Hagan of the High Llamas supplied string arrangements recorded in London. Additional guests included Japanese band CHAI, vocalist Felicia Douglass, and harpist Mary Lattimore. Issued as Avatars of Love in April 2022, the album found Lerche at his most exploratory, with pieces extending from ten-minute avant-chamber-pop suites to tracks evoking 1980s city pop, all anchored by characteristically strong melodies and candid lyrics.