Faces Down
Anybody looking for a fitting successor to Scottish acoustic pop heroesAztec CameraandBelle & Sebastianneed look no further than, er, Norway. Like his Scandinavian peers inKings of Convenience, Bergen wunderkind Sondre Lerche has taken the melodic six-string formula and given it new life on his debut. Guitars jangle, strings swell, and rhythms shuffle as the singer effortlessly conjures warmth and romance ("Pain and sorrow must come, if you go," he muses on "Virtue and Wine"). Despite his youthful appearance, Lerche has spent years perfecting his craft--he picked up his instrument at age 8 after falling for '80s Norwegian pop heartthrobsA-ha--and the experience more than shows in the excellent musicianship and arrangements of songs like "You Know So Well" and "Dead Passengers." A most promising start.--Aidin Vaziri