Sounds like our favorite Norwegian heartthrob has been hitting the disco! And why not? He moved back home to Norway at the start of the pandemic, and Norway has had some of Europe’s lowest rates of infections and deaths.
About one in three Norwegian adults have received a first dose of a vaccine and roughly 15% of adults are fully vaccinated, so hopefully Lerche is among them. I think I heard that the new CDC guidelines suggest that fully vaccinated people are allowed to shake their booty, but I don’t know if that applies in Norway…
From Pleasure, originally released in March on PLZ and being reissued November 10 on Analog Spark.
This is the fourth video the Norwegian wunderkind has released from his ninth studio album. You can watch the three previous videos below. They all share a theme of Sondre exploring his softer, sensual side while the music is either harsh and dissonant or ultra 80s synthpop. Not sure what’s going on with that but he definitely seems to be making a statement. Maybe a comment on his former teen heartthrob status? Or a post-divorce, personal Men’s Liberation movement? Or maybe he just likes wearing delicate slip-dresses and wrassling with fellas in their underwear. Who knows?
Sondre Lerche has always shared a certain je ne sais quoi (and occasionally a stage) with Elvis Costello, and these genre explorations and self re-inventions seems to fit with that.
He’s also releasing a Black Friday Record Store Day exclusive called Solo Pleasure, featuring a solo performance of the Pleasure album, recorded live to analog tape. So if this new stuff is too freaky and bloopy for you, he’s throwing you a bone.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been listening to Sondre Lerche for over ten years. Seeing him at the Double Door in Chicago on his Two Way Monologue tour is still one of my all-time favorite concert experiences. The way he connected with the audience was something that went far beyond his heartthrob status at the time. He’s dreamy, for sure, but he’s also super talented and ambitious and he’s never stayed in one spot musically for too long. I saw him a few years ago at Hope College (Sufjan’s alma mater) where he was busting loose with some totally skronky lead guitar action.
This song, “Lucky Guy,” is stripped down and lovely.
Prior to the Big Startribute to Alex Chilton at SXSW on March 20, 2010, Jon and Sondre rehearsed in a hotel room in Austin, TX. Video by Michelle Auer.
It’s nice to see he’s getting away from the genre hopping of his last couple of releases and getting back to what made us love him in the first place: lush, orchestral pop music with clever but endearing lyrics. 2004’s Two Way Monologue is still his best effort, but this new album sounds better than anything since.
