Patience

Chronique

One of the best things about following Sondre Lerche's career is that one is never quite sure what the chameleonic singer/songwriter is going to do next. The constant is his thoughtful, melodic songs; apart from that, Lerche is liable to do just about anything, whether it's amped-up new wave rockers, jangling guitar pop, or laid-back jazz ballads. After taking a totally unexpected turn towards synth pop and '80s melodrama on 2017's Pleasure, Lerche turns in his most unpredictable record yet with 2020's Patience. Inspired by the peaceful state of mind he achieves while running and the spatial distance of ambient music, the record is both one of his quietest and most extravagant albums yet. Songs are layered with strings, broken up with oddball spoken word sections, stripped down to just guitar and voice, bolstered with horns, or tweaked with synthesizers -- and they're all turned into glittering, magically weird orbs of sound by Lerche and producers Kato Ådland and Matias Tellez. "You Are Not Who I Thought I Was" is a good example of how happily bonkers the album can be. Starting off with a chunky glam rock swagger, it turns to gently sauntering indie pop in the verses before blooming into a heart-lifting singalong chorus, one of the hookiest he's ever reeled out. The arrangement here is constantly surprising and filled with little treats like spiraling guitar solos, sawing cello breaks, and Lerche's vocals dubbed out in reverb. Every song on the album features a bagful of these stunning production tricks, so many that it's hard to pick out the best moments. Maybe the "Ghost Town" organs on "We Are Alone" or the frosty banks of synths on "That's All There Is." Or the handclaps on "Don't Waste Your Time," perhaps. Definitely the trilling flutes on "Why Did I Write the Book of Love?" The list could go on, but the point is simple. Lerche's typically poignant and melodically pleasing songs are well served by the breadth and variety of sounds and settings on Patience. The chamber pop delights like the Van Dyke Parks-arranged "Put Your Camera Down" or the soaring and almost painfully expressive "Why Would I Let You Go" allow Lerche to pour out his deepest feelings; the tracks that look back to the Prefab Sprout-esque pop of the previous album ("That's All There Is" and the title track) show that he's still finding gold in that particular sound; and the more typically Lerche-sounding tunes, like the rambling soft pop gem "I Can't See Myself Without You," are bumped up a notch thanks to the care and feeling put into the sound. The other constant in Lerche's career is boldly trying new sounds and finding new settings for his thoughtfully written, sweetly sung songs; Patience provides the most inspired-sounding one yet. It's just more proof that despite not being the flavor of the month anymore, Sondre Lerche is quietly releasing some of the best and most interesting pop music of his era.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo