Sondre Lerche - Two Way Monologue

Sondre Lerche
Two Way Monologue
Astralwerks
Grade: A-/A

During the past two years all I've heard is Sondre Lerche this and Sondre Lerche that. Rolling Stone had orgasms over his first record Faces Down naming it one of the year's best. So who, what and where is Sondre Lerche? For one, he is your new favorite artist.

Lerche comes from the frozen tundra of Bergen, Norway, is barely into his twenties and is the rebirth of solo artist melodic acoustic folk-rock. Lerche was signed to Virgin Norway before he was out of school, allowing him to offer several EP's for the Norwegian contingent. Recorded a few years ago, but held off the release for a bit so he could finish school, Faces Down smashed the music world and thus opening a path to the fruitful U.S. Lerche was able to do some extensive touring in the U.S. and since then and has built up a critical mass of appreciation. Instead of getting sucked into the NYC/LA recording prowess (umm, Conor Oberst), Lerche recorded Two Way Monologue in his hometown of Bergen with HP Gundersen and Jorgen Traeen (note:imagine that name with Norwegian emphases). The product is a phenomenal piece of craftmanship that will likely ring up further endorsements.

Besides from the dominant poppy folk-rock core, Lerche enjoys molesting influences from past masters of melodic rock including Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, good Cardigans, the Beach Boys and later day Beatles. With a plethora of instrumentation including a full array of strings, horns, electronics and keys, Two Way Monologue is certainly the rebirth of Bacharach (e.g., "Days That Are Over"). Though a jaded listener may accuse Lerche of cribbing too much material from the masters, he does it in such a refreshing and integrated way that he has made it his own.

Two Way Monologue starts with a minute-and-a-half instrumental dominated by strings to open the affair. "Track You Down" echoes some serious Beatles with Lerche massaging his vocals and coaxing the acoustic guitar for the full band entrance. When the simple drum beat comes in it adds another layer for sweetness, setting up the dreamy chorus. "On the Tower" is more straight-up pop lounge with a guitar following Lerche singing and heavenly pings about half-way through. Following a more dirty acoustic recording, the title track begins in a plain manner before crescendoing on the chorus and organ to bring you back to the verse. As noted above, "Days That Are Over" seriously sounds like an ode to Bacharach and I envision Lerche singing the song in a lounge in a Las Vegas casino with a sexy red velvet outfit. Oh, the possibilities for a video off this song are endless. "Wet Ground" reminds me of some Christmas carol for a new generation as Lerche allows his vocals to edge on the raspy and some warm melodic vocal overdubs and backup. Back to the folk-rock, "Counter Spark" issues a standard Lerche song with a little strangeness from high octave organ and some ‘bah, ba-ba-bahs' for good measure. "It's Over" starts moderately creepy with Lerche's vocals doubling in each speaker as piano and strings accompany him. As probably the peppiest intro and one of the best tracks, "Stupid Memory" just trances along with simple drums, picking acoustic guitars but then an uber-catchy electronic riff comes in to grab your memory. (There was some electro-group from Scandinavia who had a song that was about with a similar sound and it captured my interest for probably longer than natural.) The addition of steel guitar and female backup vocals only adds to the mesmerization. "It's Too Late" dances around the dial paralleling some Beatles, while "It's Our Job" swings in like a lazy daydream. What makes "It's Our Job" entrancing is the simple guitar riff paralleling Lerche's vocals - I could listen to this song and "Stupid Memory" on repeat for significant amounts of time. The record closes on the mellow, mid-tempo "Maybe You're Gone" with Lerche and guitar pushing the Beatles envelope before he utilizes the full onslaught of strings, accordion, etc.

Two Way Monologue is clearly one of the best records to come out so far in 2004 and will likely maintain that status for the upcoming months. Though Lerche will probably dominant the college charts, you should look for him lingering on the billboard. I think that if he and Astralwerks(/Virgin Norway) decide to do a video for "Days That Are Over" in the manner suggested above there would be no end to the record's chart trouncing. I do find a perplexing relationship between Sondre Lerche and Conor Oberst's work in Bright Eyes. It is almost as if they are playing with the same coin but different sides. A tour between the two, though, may cause a tsunami of excitement, not unlike the fat captain of the Mexican cliff-diving team doing a plunge from ninety feet up - oh happy day.