These days, few voices croon as delightfully as Sondre Lerche's. This voice is back with the release of Lerche's latest album, Heartbeat Radio, which is just as delightful as the voice that brings it to life. With his token whimsical overtone, the Norwegian singer-songwriter uses the same elements that forced everyone to fall in love with him and his previous work, but manages to keep things fresh and lively.
There isn't a single track on Heartbeat Radio that doesn't impress, but there are several exceptionally high points.
The album is kicked off with a splendid tune called ""Good Luck"". Lerche begins by telling us he's had a bad dream, and from there the beauty is launched. As the simple guitar melody grows increasingly lush, Lerche reminds the listener, ""Don't you feel so bad / Just don't get your hopes up / Oh, there's no reason why."" The song is exciting and expressive—a great start to the album.
The record's title track follows, continuing with the theme of great music. A moody, snappy song, Lerche uses a radio as a metaphor for love. He sings, ""Waiting to hear the refrain on my heartbeat radio / My darling waves could be replaced / But I will remember you... still I'm not receiving you."" A slap of potent guitar chords follows this rant, resonating with the listener a sense of frustration over his loss.
""Words & Music"" is Heartbeat Radio's best love song, and can only be described as cheery. The song's animated beat is sure to persuade some heads to bop along with it. What's funny about ""Words & Music"" is that the melody and lyrics, when found in any other song, would bring to mind the nauseating image of a couple jovially skipping through a park in spring—most commonly seen in Disney Channel original movies. Yet somehow when Lerche uses these melodic and lyrical tactics, the image produced isn't vomit-inducing at all. In fact, it's rather nice.
Although these tracks are brilliant, what it really comes down to is that Sondre Lerche is simply great music. From his chords to the lyrics to the refrains, every bit of his creation is flawless. He knows what he's good at and he continues to deliver it album after album. Yet at the same time he refuses to go into a rut and only churn out the same four chords with every song he releases. His sound is distinct yet comfortably familiar and accessible to all kinds of music enthusiasts.
Heartbeat Radio is no exception to this fact. The album is a wonderfully comprehensive piece of work that never loses any of its steam. It's classic Sondre Lerche, and classic Sondre Lerche is great.
Grade: A
