Since Sondre Lerche’s debut, Faces Down, the young Norwegian singer-songwriter has been playfully combining cool lounge jazz with quirky power pop. Yet, when Lerche released a collection of laid back vocal jazz in early 2006, he seemed to have gotten the lounge out of his system in order to focus exclusively on that quirky power pop side. If the title Phantom Punch is any indication, it’s the punch that is emphasized here. Lerche, though still playful and endearingly charming with his pop music, has powered up with his most “rock” sounding collection to date, produced, perhaps unsurprisingly, by Tony Hoffer, who has given Supergrass and Phoenix a similar kick in the past. This isn’t necessarily so evident immediately with opening track “Airport Taxi Reception,” which retains much of the jazzy sounds that colored his earlier efforts. However, track two, “The Tape,” charges headfirst into distorted power pop, brimming with more energy than one might be used to in a Lerche song. Being the adroit songwriter that he is though, Sondre Lerche makes a seamless transition into this newly vibrant sound, turning up the volume but losing none of the charm in the process.
~ Jeff Terich
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