ARTIST: Sondre Lerche

My friend Jon called me up a while ago and told me to check out Sondre Lerche, "Look him up, listen to him, and put him on your blog" he said. I have to admit that I initially forgot his name, but I finally did look him up and took a listen. Well, I was pleasantly surprised, and here I am putting him on my blog. You might already be familiar with Sondre's stuff from the Dan In Real Life soundtrack - but if you haven't seen it (I haven't) then be prepared to be pleasantly surprised as well.

Why surprised? Well, you might pre-judge the guy for doing the soundtrack for a pseudo-sappy Hollywood comedy (I did). Then after you see a few of his press photos you might think, "oh no" (I did again). Thankfully, neither of these things are good predictors for the kind of music he's making. In fact, Sondre's got a sound that's both poppy and mature, and I've been thoroughly enjoying what I've heard so far.

Growing up on the West Coast (of Norway), he began taking an interest in various musical styles as a young guy - varying from Elvis Costello, to The Beach Boys, to Brazillian pop music. You can hear a bit of all three in this particular track, off the Dan In Real Life soundtrack. It's bouncy pop music for sure, but with a lot of grounded guitar work and some beautiful arranging. If you like that, then check out his most recent record, 2007's Phantom Punch.

Sondre Lerche - To Be Surprised
from the Dan In Real Life Soundtrack (Amazon/iTunes)