Editorial Reviews
Music Review:
Music Review
Tha Darker Things in Life, Vol. 2 [Explicit Lyrics]
Amazon.com
Anybody looking for a fitting successor to Scottish acoustic pop heroes Aztec Camera and Belle & Sebastian need look no further than, er, Norway. Like his Scandinavian peers in Kings of Convenience, Bergen wunderkind Sondre Lerche has taken the melodic six-string formula and given it new life on his debut. Guitars jangle, strings swell, and rhythms shuffle as the singer effortlessly conjures warmth and romance ("Pain and sorrow must come, if you go," he muses on "Virtue and Wine"). Despite his youthful appearance, Lerche has spent years perfecting his craft--he picked up his instrument at age 8 after falling for '80s Norwegian pop heartthrobs A-ha--and the experience more than shows in the excellent musicianship and arrangements of songs like "You Know So Well" and "Dead Passengers." A most promising start. --Aidin Vaziri
Album Description
19-year-old Sondre Lerche is not your average teen idol. The latest musical export out of the burgeoning Norwegian scene, has already released two critically acclaimed European EP's and warmed up for Beth Orton live. Featuring string orchestrations by Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas, Faces Down will appeal to indie kids and Triple A radio listeners alike. Includes the U.S. only bonus track 'Rosebud' along with the enhanced video to 'You Know So Well'. Astralwerks. 2002.