aaamusic | On 12, Aug 2011

‘Lerche is fast becoming indie rock’s Burt Bacharach with his clever, unobtrusive lyrics’ – Entertainment Weekly

‘So much effortless grace it seems unfair…Lerche might just be hitting his prime’ – Paste

‘Another slab of great Scandinavian pop’ – Spin

Sondre Lerche is thrilled to announce the UK release of his new self-titled album. Having already attracted widespread critical acclaim on its June release in the US, the record will be available in the UK on 3 October through Mona Records. The Norwegian-born, Brooklyn-based artist will tour Europe throughout October, including a date at London’s Hoxton Bar & Kitchen on 6 October.

This new collection, Lerche’s sixth album, shines with the numerous strengths that countless critics and fans have fallen in love with – his advanced melodic instinct, intimate yet refined arrangements and vivid lyricism. All of it seamlessly aligning – confirming Lerche as one of his generation’s smartest singer/songwriters.

Praised by Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Stereogum, Filter and Entertainment Weekly among others for his experimentation with contrasting musical sounds, this eponymous album contains Lerche’s most interesting arrangements and catchy songwriting to date, but also some of his most sombre and introspective. But for his sixth album, Lerche’s prolific curiosity didn’t lead him to a new genre so much as introduce a new level of candidness in his work.

From the gripping cut-to-the-chase opener ‘Ricochet’ to the über-catchy ‘Private Caller,’ from the naked drama of ‘Red Flags,’ the tribal-pop of ‘Go Right Ahead’ and the sly folk of ‘Living Dangerously,’ the album masterfully captures a raw, spontaneous, instinctive and heartfelt sound that results in a confident artistic statement and arguably Lerche’s boldest and best record to date.

In the studio, Lerche wanted to explore his new creative alliances in Williamsburg, the Brooklyn neighbourhood where he’s lived on and off for the last six years. ‘Getting to work with my new friends was one of the highlights of this whole process,’ says Lerche. The album was recorded – live in the studio – and mixed in a short but intense time period of three-weeks. The sessions included fellow musicians – Midlake drummer McKenzie Smith, longtime producer/collaborator Kato Ådland, Dave Heilman, drummer for Lerche-collaborator Regina Spektor, and co-producer, mixer and owner of Rare Book Room Studio, Nicolas Verhnes (Spoon, Animal Collective). ‘We recorded a lot of it to tape, forcing ourselves to either commit or burn bridges and move on. We were killing darlings left and right. It was truly liberating.’

The lead track of the album, ‘Private Caller’ is available here: http://partisanpr.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b70ce71b9ec2be0797196844d&id=1b1bfd2795&e=a43adcce6a

Also, you can see an acoustic performance of the song in the artist’s own backyard here: http://partisanpr.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b70ce71b9ec2be0797196844d&id=76a50b5112&e=a43adcce6a