Sondre Lerche's
Don't Be Shallow EP contains four studio recorded songs from the Norwegian singer/songwriter as well as four live tracks recorded in a solo acoustic setting. The four studio songs are as good as the songs on
Faces Down,
Lerche's stunning debut. In fact, two of the songs were originally slated to appear on the record but were left off at the last minute. "Don't Be Shallow" would have been one of the highlights of the album, a low-key ballad with a steadily building arrangement that starts with acoustic guitar, bongos, and
Lerche's angelic vocals and ends up traveling to outer space via weird sound effects and heavily reverbed slide guitar; the other track, "I Know I Know," is also quite nice. The other two studio tracks, "Living Lounge" and "Single Hand Affairs," date from 2001 and were among the first songs
Lerche recorded in his newly built home studio. Both of the tracks are atmospheric ballads built around acoustic guitars, angelic vocals, and sound effects. Very nice, laid-back, and poignant tunes. The live tracks include sweet and intimate versions of the first three tracks from
Faces Down ("Dead Passengers," "You Know So Well," and an energetic, exciting "Sleep on Needles" that finds
Lerche cheekily channeling Marc Bolan for just a second near the end) and a lilting cover of
Cole Porter's "Night and Day."
Lerche is a talented kid with a big voice and songs to match. Keep an eye on him. ~ Tim Sendra