with Nightlands, Kishi Bashi
June 4, 2011
Sondre Lerche displays more energy and passion for his music than any post-modern Brooklyn-dwelling artist should be willing to share in public. Without an air of irony or detachment to his music, the Norwegian born Lerche has made a name for himself through catchy pop-tunes with heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics and an innate sense of composition. He gained popularity after putting his craftmanship to good use composing the soundtrack for the Steve Carrell film "Dan in Real Life", in which he also appeared with his band "The Faces Down".
Lerche is a confident, amusing stage presence with a penchant for talking and poking fun at himself during shows. He is as comfortable alone with his guitar in solo as he is with a backing band, and looks to genuinely enjoy himself in both settings. I've seen his solo act at Maxwells and Joe's Pub in years past, and in a smaller intimate setting he enjoys engaging the crowd and chatting with fans throughout the show.
In terms of his music, the confidence Lerche exudes is a blessing and a curse. In his best moments, as evidenced by nearly every track from his fourth studio album, 'Phantom Punch', Lerche's music is at once both soulful and snappy, bringing together elements of pop music and jazz riffs that build to a touching yet infinitely catchy string of songs. He is unafraid to invite elements of disco, synth-pop, and countless other influences that span the past few decades of music and blend them into unexpected gems that delight the ears and have a broad appeal.
That confidence has allowed Lerche to experiment with more traditional 'American' rock and roll composition as well, resulting in ballads and love songs that wouldn't be out of place coming out of the pipes of a Sinatra or Michael Buble. Upon sampling a few tracks from his 2009 album "Heartbeat Radio", a friend unfamiliar with Lerche's catalog went so far as to remark that his sound was "kind of girl-y" (this from a female friend, for the record, so as to avoid any chauvinistic implications). While the title track from the album is a snappy, rhythmic anthem that both evokes nostalgia for the days of radio and cries out against the direction modern radio has gone, many other tracks represent this confidence of Lerche's, his abandon, taking his music in a direction far from the clever crafted tunes toward a less defensible conglomerate of sing-songy ballads.
That to is to say, at least on the surface, Sondre Lerche's songs are hit-or-miss. The time and effort Lerche puts into each song is evident, occasionally to a fault. I would never criticize any of his songs from a structural, compositional perspective, but that doesn't meant that I necessarily want to listen to them. If that seems too judgmental, I'll be the first to endorse Lerche's music in general and to recommend spending an evening watching him at work.
As the lights dimmed on the Bowery Ballroom last night, I hoped to watch Sondre prove my friend wrong by spotlighting some of his more distinguished efforts with the accompaniment of his backing band, comprised of opener Kishi Bashi on violin and synthesizer, Dave Hartley (of opener Nightlands) on bass, and superhuman drummer Dave Heilman. Instead, the band opened with a handful of softer, sweeter ballads both old and new. Intended as a showcase for his new album, the opening tracks showed Lerche at his most heartfelt and melodic. Yet, it wasn't until 'Airport, Taxi, Reception', the first track from the album "Phantom Punch", that the band really seemed to find its groove.
With or without preconceived notions of his music, one can see a dichotomy in Sondre Lerche. His penchant for intense, rocking, heartfelt pop-songs, his stage passion, and his charm make him a life force of a musician and a show worth spending a Saturday evening on. The less secure, crooning singer songwriter with a curiosity of ballads and love songs can still hold a tune, but often falls flat from a pure entertainment perspective. Either way, Lerche remains a lovable fixture among the modern music scene, and I look forward to more of his work, even if it means filtering out some of the sap.
