Sondre Lerche
Faces Down

THE REVIEW

I couldn't help but review what Rolling Stone considers one of the best 5 debut albums of 2002 and for me the most beautiful album of the past season by far.

Sondre Lerche Vaular is a small nineteen-year-old Norwegian who emerged out of nowhere in 2001 with an E.P. (Dead Passengers) that caught the media's attention for an incredible compositional ability, so original that it seemed miraculous.
Well, the miracle happened in 2002; setting aside the pop-grunge, punk, garage, 70's sounds of various bands circulating in the past 3 years, "Faces Down" dives into something that no one (except, perhaps, Beck Hansen) can decently do anymore: mixing styles to the fullest.

In this album, if you exclude metal and hip-hop sounds, there's truly everything: Beatles-like melodies ("You Know So Well") interrupted halfway by the lightest bossanova ("Virtue And Wine"); acoustic ballads, just guitar and voice, as depressing as to make the most pessimistic Thom Yorke pale ("Side Two"); sparse and raw guitar-drum songs with a strong psychedelic feel, like "Tomorrow Never Knows" but without too many effects ("Sleep On Needles"), pop songs in the best blur style like "Coffee and TV" ("All Luck Ran Out"); songs sung in duet (perhaps the only thing not quite right) and songs that are unclassifiable ("Things You Call Fate") that occasionally break their flow to make room for absurd sounds, leaving the listener truly puzzled (but only on the first listens).
The album speeds up sharply only to almost halt its rhythm during the more intimate moments, then catches its breath with some pop, and finally dives into a style all its own (a sort of "gentle" crossover).

If this artist were born in Great Britain, the English would have made such a fuss, putting him even in breakfast cereal boxes. For now, he is still semi-unknown... but if he continues like this, fame will come soon, along with some nice recognition for his talent.