Sondre Lerche: Great Expectations Await Norwegian Talent
April 13, 2007
As I walked into the Paradise Rock Club I heard someone behind me saying to his friend, “I can’t believe this is sold out, I didn’t even know anyone else knew who he was!” This seemed to be the sentiment shared by almost all of the attendees of the Sondre Lerche concert on Friday, April 6, 2007. A bit like a flash mob, we were a group of a few hundred fans who descended on the club at a set time based on a shared secret. Once inside, it was like being in the company of friends who understood you on a music level. The audience of mostly twentysomethings (it was an 18+ show) dressed for a night on the town also featured a surprising sprinkling of the over thirty crowd.
For those unfamiliar with Sondre Lerche—you probably are unless you live in Norway or have had his album recommended by iTunes—he is a Norwegian singer/songwriter of catchy alt-pop tracks who has released four albums in his short international career. Lerche began playing gigs at fourteen, a decade ago, and was raised on the pop sounds of A-ha, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Elvis Costello, and Brazilian Bossa Nova. His first two albums, Faces Down (2002) and Two Way Monologue (2004), were generally well-received by critics who appreciated the melodic pop stylings of the young performer, but failed to make much of a dent in the American market and were criticized for their lyrics, which Rolling Stone said “suggest a nonsensical translation of what might have been eloquent in the singer’s native tongue.” In 2006, Lerche took a step in the jazz direction with Duper Sessions, a more acoustic sound that featured the singer taking on the role of lounge singer backed by tight jazz arrangements.
Lerche’s latest work, Phantom Punch (2007) is his most aggressive and loudest rock album to date and features more than a few songs that will remain in your head long after you first hear them.
Last Friday’s show at the Paradise featured two opening bands before Lerche’s 11 p.m. appearance. Thomas Dybdahl, Lerche’s AstralWerks record mate and fellow countryman, took the stage in a simple suit and floppy bowler-style hat—a true vintage folk look that complemented his lovelorn acoustic sound. With a spare sound reminiscent of Neil Young’s simplicity, Dybdahl played a short solo set with acoustic guitar, harmonica, and a melodic voice. The music, with songs like “Flesh and Bones” and “A Love Story,” are songs to listen to after a breakup, or the morning after a rough night of drinking. There was no shortage of talent in Dybdahl’s set but his image as an acoustic troubadour is hardly original—including a song called “Henry” about playing in a rock and roll band—and quite derivative of his folk forbearers, but perhaps that’s part of the beauty of his sound.
Willy Mason, the second opener, began playing solo acoustic and was joined onstage by the full band partway through the first song. Clad in a trucker hat with flannel shirt and jeans, Mason played simple countrified rock backed by a fiddler (also the backup singer), bass, and drums. The music, slowly and painfully orchestrated, was played from a different time and place. Rolling Stone called his sound “Equal parts hobo and Holden Caulfield,” and Mason’s set at the Paradise certainly evoked a sense of rural naïveté from an earlier era. Songs like “Leaving Soon” with lyrics like “where the water tastes like moonshine” and “god won’t do me wrong” sounded more like the ambling poetry of an early twentieth century bluesman than a modern northerner. The crowd swayed and jived to the sound and a few happily drunken girls in hippie dresses danced about in the back.
After two excellent opening acts, Sondre Lerche appeared on stage with his three-piece band, Faces Down (named after his first album). After a long drum solo, the band got into a groove and began playing songs from their newest effort, Phantom Punch. With quick, jolty movements reflecting an unbounded energy, Lerche sang and played electric, smiling all the while. The simple lyrics and fast-paced, up-tempo Norwegian pop resonated with the audience who sang along to most of the songs (particularly from older albums) and danced along to the guitar riffs and drum beats. With his boyish good looks and lead singing, Lerche was the subject of longing gazes from women in the audience, even though most in attendance came in couples.
The band seemed to be having genuine fun as they ripped through songs from Phantom Punch and Faces Down; smiles abounded as they broke down arrangements and improvised parts of songs. As the Boston show was one of the last dates on the American leg of their tour, it was clear that Faces Down was a well-practiced band with an intimate sense of their personal styles. Without even looking over to the guitarist, Lerche could change pace and slow things down or, conversely, play louder and faster, and the band would follow suit without missing a beat. The band seemed equally prepared for the slower acoustic material from Duper Sessions, which they played with equal finesse. The defining moment of the performance came when Lerche told the audience that he wanted them to dance during the next song. On cue, lights hit the disco ball and the room filled with spinning refractions of light. Suddenly it did feel like a disco and Lerche’s brand of pop was a perfect accompaniment for the environment.
Throughout the performance, whether on the more aggressive sound of Phantom Punch or the lounge act feel of Duper Sessions, the band was having a great time and the looseness of that feeling had a positive effect on their sound. There was no pretension to greatness. This is pop, pure and simple. There is no depth to the lyrics, no emotional residue, but an abundance of catchy riffs and memorable lyrics. Talent was abundant in Lerche’s performance and his songs transferred beautifully to a live show. That said, between moments of exuberant uplifting pop, I spent the show preoccupied with the notion that there was no substance to this music. Everyone was having fun—audience and band alike—but there was little connection between the two. Standing fifteen feet from the artists on the side of the stage I felt I might have been watching a video of the performance on television. It was as if this was the performance that could have been great, but it never got there. With Lerche it always seems that way. The music is good, but not great. The lyrics are singable but they are often fumbled.
After listening for an hour and a half it’s clear that Lerche could be more than a middle-of-road artist. He has the songwriting ability, the musical talent, and even the looks to make great music that resonates with an American audience. Hopefully Lerche will reach that level, because he has too much potential not to capitalize on it.