Superman or Green Lantern ain't got nothing on ... Sondre Lerche.

The similarities between this young Norwegian's vocal style and that of '60s icon Donovan Leitch are striking. But it's not as big a problem as one might imagine, thanks to the strength of Lerche's songwriting.

Leitch built his sound on an inspired mix of folk and psychedelia delivering such classics as "Sunshine Superman," "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man." On Two Way Monologue, Lerche follows suit but also adds splashes of Elliott Smith nihilism and Elvis Costello wordplay. Meanwhile, the production team of Lerche, Jorgen Traeen and H.P. Gundersen sweeten the mix with layers of Beatle-esque strings as well as horns, accordion and glockenspiel. The results are captivating.

Two Way Monologue is Lerche's second full-length album, the follow up to Faces Down (2000). And as Lerche reports on his official website (sondrelerche.com), for this disc he wanted to challenge himself "to write songs that were less predictable in structure and more relaxed." He's certainly succeeded. Songs like "It's Too Late" and "Two Way Monologue" manage to veer off in unexpected directions without having their quirkiness feel studied or pretentious. I suspect that some of the ambiguous atmosphere of Lerche's lyrics may result from his growing up in a multilingual cultural smorgasbord in Bergen, Norway, but no matter how the magic originates what's important is that Lerche's music has been captured for our enjoyment.

My favorite cut here is "Track You Down," which starts out with Lerche solo on guitar and vocals before Morten Skage (bass), Kato Adland (keyboards) and Ole Ludvig Kruger (drums) begin the process of fleshing out the song. Among the other stand-out tunes are the Beck-like "It's Too Late"; "On The Tower," one of the few tracks on which Lerche takes full advantage of his electric guitar; and "Counter Spark." The "ba-ba-ba baa-ba" chorus to "Counter Spark" is pure '60s-pop fluff. But don't let the melody mislead, the lyrics are more akin to Momus (another Donovan sound-alike) or Morrissey. "You got the picture from the start/You saw right through me in the dark ... I'm fairly realistic/But my thoughts are out of lip-sync."

Two Way Monologue is a difficult disc to nail down. It refuses to sit still. But this, ultimately, is its charm. So track it down, give it a listen and let it sneak into your subconscious. This is a terrific album.

- Rambles
written by Gregg Thurlbeck
published 5 March 2005