Written and recorded in an exhilarating creative whirlwind, Sondre Lerche's remarkable new double album, Avatars of Love, is as ambitious as it is unexpected, defying the conventional wisdom of the streaming era with a series of sprawling, epic tracks that routinely stretch past the five, six, even ten-minute mark. What's more, the record is perhaps the most revealing work of self-reflection Lerche's ever dared to create, offering up a candid reckoning with loss, desire, regret, and infatuation as it looks back on a lifetime of relationships (some more raw and recent than others). Captured with a rotating cast of Lerche's dearest friends and collaborators back in his native Norway, the result is a stunningly beautiful and unabashedly romantic collection that walks the line between folk intimacy, electronic experimentalism, and orchestral grandeur, an open, honest exploration of sexuality and sentimentality that hints at everything from legends like Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell to contemporaries like Ezra Koenig and Sufjan Stevens as it embraces the highs and lows of modern love in all its messy glory.
"This is without a doubt the biggest, boldest, most complex thing I've ever done," Lerche reflects. "At the same time, it was also the easiest, most natural, and most liberating. As an artist, it's the kind of flow you always dream about."
Lerche's been a dreamer for most of his life now. Born and raised in Bergen, Norway, he first came to international attention as a teenager with the release of his critically acclaimed debut, Faces Down, which Rolling Stone hailed as "one of the year's loveliest, sunniest, poppiest albums." Over the course of the ensuing two decades (most of which were spent living in the US), Lerche would go on to release eight more similarly celebrated studio albums, perform on Letterman, Conan, and at NPR's Tiny Desk, score multiple feature films including Dan In Real Life and The Sleepwalker, collaborate in the studio and onstage with artists as diverse as Regina Spektor and Phillip Glass, and tour with the likes of Stereolab, Elvis Costello and St. Vincent, among others. The New Yorker dubbed him a "pop wunderkind," while The New York Times praised his "elegantly shaped songs," and NPR lauded his "slyly charismatic presence." Outside of his prolific musical output and relentless tour schedule, Lerche managed to explore a host of other interests, as well, releasing two children's books, launching his own wildly popular line of natural wines, and publishing a collection of musical essays about everyone from A-ha to Lana Del Rey.
~~~~~~~~
Sondre is a Los Angeles-based Norwegian singer, songwriter, film score composer and artist. His eclectic and melodic debut, Faces Down, written and recorded at 16, was named one of the most remarkable introductions of 2002 by Rolling Stone, also winning a Norwegian Grammy for Best Newcomer. Over the past two decades, Lerche has released nine studio albums, toured with the likes of Air, Stereolab, Elvis Costello and St Vincent, appeared on David Letterman, and composed numerous film scores for soundtracks including the 2007 Steve Carell/Juliette Binoche hit movie Dan In Real Life.
Twenty-Twenty was a busy year for Lerche, returning home to his Norway amidst the pandemic and releasing his ninth studio album Patience. The album earned 3 Norwegian Grammy nominations and has been met with critical acclaim from Stereogum, Paste, SPIN, American Songwriter, and Under The Radar among others. Magnet Magazine called it his "finest record yet" while Atwood Magazine named it "a music masterpiece whose sweet sounds and deep emotions speak directly to the present age of uncertainty, and discomfort." Lerche also wrote his first children's book and launched a line of natural wines, PATOS. He will release his next studio album in 2022.
show less
"This is without a doubt the biggest, boldest, most complex thing I've ever done," Lerche reflects. "At the same time, it was also the easiest, most natural, and most liberating. As an artist, it's the kind of flow you always dream about."
Lerche's been a dreamer for most of his life now. Born and raised in Bergen, Norway, he first came to international attention as a teenager with the release of his critically acclaimed debut, Faces Down, which Rolling Stone hailed as "one of the year's loveliest, sunniest, poppiest albums." Over the course of the ensuing two decades (most of which were spent living in the US), Lerche would go on to release eight more similarly celebrated studio albums, perform on Letterman, Conan, and at NPR's Tiny Desk, score multiple feature films including Dan In Real Life and The Sleepwalker, collaborate in the studio and onstage with artists as diverse as Regina Spektor and Phillip Glass, and tour with the likes of Stereolab, Elvis Costello and St. Vincent, among others. The New Yorker dubbed him a "pop wunderkind," while The New York Times praised his "elegantly shaped songs," and NPR lauded his "slyly charismatic presence." Outside of his prolific musical output and relentless tour schedule, Lerche managed to explore a host of other interests, as well, releasing two children's books, launching his own wildly popular line of natural wines, and publishing a collection of musical essays about everyone from A-ha to Lana Del Rey.
~~~~~~~~
Sondre is a Los Angeles-based Norwegian singer, songwriter, film score composer and artist. His eclectic and melodic debut, Faces Down, written and recorded at 16, was named one of the most remarkable introductions of 2002 by Rolling Stone, also winning a Norwegian Grammy for Best Newcomer. Over the past two decades, Lerche has released nine studio albums, toured with the likes of Air, Stereolab, Elvis Costello and St Vincent, appeared on David Letterman, and composed numerous film scores for soundtracks including the 2007 Steve Carell/Juliette Binoche hit movie Dan In Real Life.
Twenty-Twenty was a busy year for Lerche, returning home to his Norway amidst the pandemic and releasing his ninth studio album Patience. The album earned 3 Norwegian Grammy nominations and has been met with critical acclaim from Stereogum, Paste, SPIN, American Songwriter, and Under The Radar among others. Magnet Magazine called it his "finest record yet" while Atwood Magazine named it "a music masterpiece whose sweet sounds and deep emotions speak directly to the present age of uncertainty, and discomfort." Lerche also wrote his first children's book and launched a line of natural wines, PATOS. He will release his next studio album in 2022.
Written and recorded in an exhilarating creative whirlwind, Sondre Lerche's remarkable new double album, Avatars of Love, is as ambitious as it is unexpected, defying the conventional wisdom of the streaming era with a series of sprawling, epic tracks that routinely stretch past the five, six, even ten-minute mark. What's more, the record is perhaps the most revealing work of self-reflection Lerche's ever dared to create, offering up a candid reckoning with loss, desire, regret, and infatuation as it looks back on a lifetime of relationships (some more raw and recent than others). Captured with a rotating cast of Lerche's dearest friends and collaborators back in his native Norway, the result is a stunningly beautiful and unabashedly romantic collection that walks the line between folk intimacy, electronic experimentalism, and orchestral grandeur, an open, honest exploration of sexuality and sentimentality that hints at everything from legends like Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell to contemporaries like Ezra Koenig and Sufjan Stevens as it embraces the highs and lows of modern love in all its messy glory.
"This is without a doubt the biggest, boldest, most complex thing I've ever done," Lerche reflects. "At the same time, it was also the easiest, most natural, and most liberating. As an artist, it's the kind of flow you always dream about."
Lerche's been a dreamer for most of his life now. Born and raised in Bergen, Norway, he first came to international attention as a teenager with the release of his critically acclaimed debut, Faces Down, which Rolling Stone hailed as "one of the year's loveliest, sunniest, poppiest albums." Over the course of the ensuing two decades (most of which were spent living in the US), Lerche would go on to release eight more similarly celebrated studio albums, perform on Letterman, Conan, and at NPR's Tiny Desk, score multiple feature films including Dan In Real Life and The Sleepwalker, collaborate in the studio and onstage with artists as diverse as Regina Spektor and Phillip Glass, and tour with the likes of Stereolab, Elvis Costello and St. Vincent, among others. The New Yorker dubbed him a "pop wunderkind," while The New York Times praised his "elegantly shaped songs," and NPR lauded his "slyly charismatic presence." Outside of his prolific musical output and relentless tour schedule, Lerche managed to explore a host of other interests, as well, releasing two children's books, launching his own wildly popular line of natural wines, and publishing a collection of musical essays about everyone from A-ha to Lana Del Rey.
~~~~~~~~
Sondre is a Los Angeles-based Norwegian singer, songwriter, film score composer and artist. His eclectic and melodic debut, Faces Down, written and recorded at 16, was named one of the most remarkable introductions of 2002 by Rolling Stone, also winning a Norwegian Grammy for Best Newcomer. Over the past two decades, Lerche has released nine studio albums, toured with the likes of Air, Stereolab, Elvis Costello and St Vincent, appeared on David Letterman, and composed numerous film scores for soundtracks including the 2007 Steve Carell/Juliette Binoche hit movie Dan In Real Life.
Twenty-Twenty was a busy year for Lerche, returning home to his Norway amidst the pandemic and releasing his ninth studio album Patience. The album earned 3 Norwegian Grammy nominations and has been met with critical acclaim from Stereogum, Paste, SPIN, American Songwriter, and Under The Radar among others. Magnet Magazine called it his "finest record yet" while Atwood Magazine named it "a music masterpiece whose sweet sounds and deep emotions speak directly to the present age of uncertainty, and discomfort." Lerche also wrote his first children's book and launched a line of natural wines, PATOS. He will release his next studio album in 2022.
read more
"This is without a doubt the biggest, boldest, most complex thing I've ever done," Lerche reflects. "At the same time, it was also the easiest, most natural, and most liberating. As an artist, it's the kind of flow you always dream about."
Lerche's been a dreamer for most of his life now. Born and raised in Bergen, Norway, he first came to international attention as a teenager with the release of his critically acclaimed debut, Faces Down, which Rolling Stone hailed as "one of the year's loveliest, sunniest, poppiest albums." Over the course of the ensuing two decades (most of which were spent living in the US), Lerche would go on to release eight more similarly celebrated studio albums, perform on Letterman, Conan, and at NPR's Tiny Desk, score multiple feature films including Dan In Real Life and The Sleepwalker, collaborate in the studio and onstage with artists as diverse as Regina Spektor and Phillip Glass, and tour with the likes of Stereolab, Elvis Costello and St. Vincent, among others. The New Yorker dubbed him a "pop wunderkind," while The New York Times praised his "elegantly shaped songs," and NPR lauded his "slyly charismatic presence." Outside of his prolific musical output and relentless tour schedule, Lerche managed to explore a host of other interests, as well, releasing two children's books, launching his own wildly popular line of natural wines, and publishing a collection of musical essays about everyone from A-ha to Lana Del Rey.
~~~~~~~~
Sondre is a Los Angeles-based Norwegian singer, songwriter, film score composer and artist. His eclectic and melodic debut, Faces Down, written and recorded at 16, was named one of the most remarkable introductions of 2002 by Rolling Stone, also winning a Norwegian Grammy for Best Newcomer. Over the past two decades, Lerche has released nine studio albums, toured with the likes of Air, Stereolab, Elvis Costello and St Vincent, appeared on David Letterman, and composed numerous film scores for soundtracks including the 2007 Steve Carell/Juliette Binoche hit movie Dan In Real Life.
Twenty-Twenty was a busy year for Lerche, returning home to his Norway amidst the pandemic and releasing his ninth studio album Patience. The album earned 3 Norwegian Grammy nominations and has been met with critical acclaim from Stereogum, Paste, SPIN, American Songwriter, and Under The Radar among others. Magnet Magazine called it his "finest record yet" while Atwood Magazine named it "a music masterpiece whose sweet sounds and deep emotions speak directly to the present age of uncertainty, and discomfort." Lerche also wrote his first children's book and launched a line of natural wines, PATOS. He will release his next studio album in 2022.
show less
Date/Times:
The Chapel
33 Upcoming Events
777 Valencia Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
The Best Events
Every Week in Your Inbox
From Our Sponsors
UPCOMING EVENTS
Great suggestion! We'll be in touch.
Event reviewed successfully.