Sondre Lerche’s musical musings are absorbed with relative ease. It’s rock lite, a watered-down version of Simon and Garfunkel, ensuring that it’s easy on the auditory palate. In taking a listen, you might never feel inclined to challenge the material itself.
Lerche’s latest release is self-titled, unusual considering he is already something of a veteran to the world of pop.
He will be performing at Cat’s Cradle tonight at 8 p.m.
The pitch of Lerche’s sweet song is spot on, and guitar and fiddle prove to be nothing more and nothing less than perfectly pleasant. The music and lyrics are not groundbreaking or unusual, but if you are after something that’s easy on the ears, this album will undoubtedly do.
“Sondre Lerche” is the Norwegian cross between Michael Buble and Johnny Flynn, though ever so slightly less charming than the latter.
The album’s lyrics are both sweet and direct. It seems that Lerche avoids falling prey to the plague so often suffered by his Nordic counterparts, the understandable yet apparent struggle to render English as a second language with meaning and clarity.
The major exception to the musical expectation established through the album is “Tied Up to the Tide,” a track that finally shakes the misty trance set by the consistent sound of prior tracks.
The song is patient and soulful, disintegrating into musical madness with accordion and drums vibrating to the very finish. It leaves the lingering sense that Lerche is more capable and talented than his determination to be digestible will allow him to reveal.
The album is nothing to be mulled over or dwelled upon for too long. Take it all with a grain of salt, embrace it for what it is and let Lerche’s baby blues lull you into soft submission.
