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Once a year, the Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche picks a newish song to cover and sends his version to Stereogum as a Christmas present. Just a couple of weeks ago, we got the latest entry in this hallowed series when Lerche took on Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' "Die With A Smile." Now, Lerche has followed that release by dropping a few new song of his own.
Today, Sondre Lerche released his new three-song EP Turning Up The Heat Again. It's a precursor to a larger project, and it's the first release of new Lerche tracks since the ambitious 2022 album Avatars Of Love. All three of his new songs are loose and jazzy, and they give me a bit of a Destroyer vibe. In a press release, Lerche has a whole lot to say about this release, so I'll quote him at length below.
In the time that’s passed since Avatars Of Love came out,I have kept busy with a few major and minor digressions. There was the two-act career-spanning performance at the Oslo Opera. And for 100 performances, I was Christian in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. I also made an EP of ambient and minimalist pieces called Sea Of Sighs. And a double album of remixes, collaborations and interpretations of Avatars-era songs, called Avatars Of The Night. I’ve also recorded a few more annual Holiday-covers, and compiled the first 10 years of them on an album called Understudy. But mainly and mostly I’ve been hard at work writing and recording the follow-up to Avatars Of Love. And to plant the flag, start the new year right, and offer you a pallet cleanser before a bigger meal, I am releasing this EP at the top of the new year. It’s called Turning Up The Heat Again, and it contains three brand new songs that are exclusive to this release. They were written and recorded in the same breath as what’s to come, but for now this is what I want you to hear!
“After The Coup” was written last winter, and recorded with great ease, elevated by Dave Heilman’s intricate drum and percussion arrangement, Alexander’s keys flourishes and patterns, and Chris Holm’s fretless-bass excursions. My first instinct was that it would be interesting to try to keep a song of some drama and tempo light on its feet. Co-producer Vetle Junker has a gentle, warm touch that inspired me to sing the song in the lower octave, the way I wrote it, rather than straining for power and more melodrama. The song is written in some frustration over how effectively the holy powers of religion are exploited to sugarcoat, disguise and justify all that’s bad and broken in our trying current times.
“Turning Up The Heat Again” was the first new song we began recording for this new era. I’d had the chord section for years and tried many times to make something of it. One day while traveling home from a gig, I got stuck at an airport for five hours, and I went to work. Some of the chatter you hear looped in the background is from the original Voice Memo demo I recorded at the airport while writing the song. Incidentally, it’s a song about trying to write a song, and dedicating a lifetime in service of your own creations and passions. It’s a dub/trip-hop/bossa-hybrid. My friend Mariana Sangita on vocals, and the great Solveig Wang on clarinet. Kato Ådland co-produced with me, it took forever to fully land. I find this to be my most witchy song yet.
“Diplomacy” is a song I made up without much fuzz in the midst of this long process. I was starting to see what songs I had, and what was missing. For the longest time, "Diplomacy" was called "Ode To Chile" — I hadn’t found the words yet by the time we started recording it, and the music felt indebted to my vague conception of Chilean folk and rock music. The band made it all sing in co-producer Matias Tellez’s new studio in Bergen, with some late addition guests: upright bass player Ole Morten Vågan and violinist Harpreet Bansal, both extraordinary ambassadors for Oslo’s thriving music scene. And Norwegian/Brazilian singer Gabriela Garrubo on vocals. It’s a simple song capturing everyday disillusionment and destruction in a world where warmongers are applauded for their perverse optics of peace. It’s also my first song In 5/4 (or is it 7/8? I can’t recall) time signature. I had to send the sketch to my drummer Dave to ask him what time signature it was.
Give the new EP a spin below.
The Turning Up The Heat Again EP is out now on PLZ. Also, Lerche is about to reprise his role in the Moulin Rouge! musical, which is coming back for a limited engagement at Oslo's Chateau Neuf through 4/11.
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