Sondre Lerche
Faces Down

(Virgin)

T.J. Simon's #3 album for 2002

First Appeared at The Music Box, February 2003, Volume 10, #2

Written by T.J. Simon

Norway’s finest musical export since A-ha is a young singer-songwriter named Sondre Lerche who performs Brit-pop with orchestral arrangements and lyrics so clever and intelligent that you’d think English was his mother tongue. Most of the support musicians on Faces Down have names containing letters unfound on a standard QWERTY keyboard, but they all do a fantastic job of creating a rich and textured home for Lerche’s poignant lyrics. He is clearly a devotee of Brian Wilson as evidenced by his Phil Spector-style arrangements and love of rich harmonies. The imagery in his lyrics is also pure magic — check out the tracks Dead Passengers and You Know Me So Well, and prepare to be blown away.

Faces Down is available from Barnes & Noble.
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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2003 The Music Box