Sondre Lerche - Phantom Punch

Sondre Lerche
Phantom Punch
Astralwerks
Grade: A-

Back with his Faces Down trio – guitarist Kato Adland, bassist Morten Skage, and drummer Ole Ludvig Kruger – Sondre Lerche goes back to his glorious pop rock songs after his one off jazz record Duper Sessions. Instead of falling back into Two Way Monologue II, Lerche tries to show all of his influences throughout the eleven-song Phantom Punch. In so doing, Lerche simultaneously dazzles and disappoints on some level. Listeners keen on Lerche’s crooning on top of pop love fests in the past will find new fixes for their addiction, but may be saddened if they’re only looking for the pop love. Songs that hit the pop rock vein include “The Tape,” “Face the Blood,” “She’s Fantastic,” and “Say It All.” Surprisingly, the clearly worst song on Phantom Punch is the title track – just a fuzzed rocker that sounds like filler. With the previously mentioned songs in mind, tracks that highlight Lerche’s phenomenal voice include the jazzy opener “Airport Taxi Reception,” the acoustic “Tragic Humor,” the Brazilian-tinged “John, Let Me Go,” and “After All.” A strong album on its own, Phantom Punch unfortunately doesn’t take Sondre Lerche to the next level that we all dream about.