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Archive for the ‘Sondre Lerche’ Category

Sondre Lerche / mmeadows (City Winery Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, May 24, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in City Winery Philadelphia, mmeadows, Philadelphia, PA, Sondre Lerche on May 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: May 24, 2022] Sondre Lerche / mmeadows

I’ve been a fan of Sondre Lerche for about eight years.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to see him live, but when the night of the show came up, my wife and I decided to just stay home instead.  She didn’t really know him–sometimes I get tickets for a show I think she’ll like–and I’m sure that impacted her decision to stay home.

At the same time, it felt like a long drive for a seated show of mellow folk, no matter how good it was.

Here’s a review from the NYC show the night before

Lerche said that his newest album was written and recorded in Norway, where he grew up and hunkered down during lockdown. He kept busy training for marathons, started a wine company, wrote children’s books, and busted out creative new music videos during that span. He also discussed how his working methods have allowed his artistry to evolve and branch out in unique ways.

Lerche’s music has continued to evolve over the years and now encompasses an extraordinary range of styles, each amazing in their own right, from jazz and addictive instrumental ballads to pop melodies and rhythms. Approaching each song is much like examining a gallery piece: once you can overcome the rush and excitement of the melody and can focus on the lyrics, you let them sink in. His thought-provoking, introspective poetry strikes a chord and makes you love and appreciate the songs more with each listen. These elements come together with eclectic, but incredibly appealing results.

I don’t really know mmeadows, but their music is pretty interesting.  Rough Trade publishing describes them this way:

Longtime collaborators Kristin Slipp and Cole Kamen-Green come together for the first time as a duo in mmeadows. The band’s distinct sound is informed by their deep musical backgrounds: Kristin is a current member of indie royalty Dirty Projectors, while Cole has worked directly with Beyoncé on two albums, ‘Beyoncé’ and ‘Four.’ Drawing from their disparate influences, mmeadows sees two people connect in what Paste Magazine calls a sonically “singular” way.

Vocal-focused pop songwriting is the heartbeat of mmeadows, who liberally use found sounds and esoteric vintage instruments in their productions and performances. The band released their first EP, Who Do You Think You Are?, in April 2020.

Perhaps a but too poppy for me, but I’ll bet they’re fun live.

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Matt Phelan–Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Keaton (2013)

Posted in Acrobats, Baseball, Buster Keaton, Circus, History, Matt Phelan, Michigan, Short Books, Sondre Lerche, Tiny Desk Concert, Violence on February 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

 bluffSOUNDTRACK: SONDRE LERCHE-Tiny Desk Concert #33 (November 2, 2009).

lercheSondre Lerche is a Norwegian singer songwriter.  For some reason, without knowing anything about him, I pictured him as someone totally different–perhaps a French woman?  So I was quite surprised to hear him play these great folky songs.

“Hearbeat Radio” is a catchy love song, with a great melody and many chord changes.  I mention this because after the second song, “Good Luck” Bob Boilen also mentions the “handful” of chords in that song.  And there are a lot, which really makes for an interesting melody.  And indeed, Lerche is a very good guitarist, throwing interesting chords all over the place (although in his banter he complains that he puts too many chords in the songs).

Speaking of banter, Lerche is quite funny, introducing the first song by complaining about radio (but not you guys).  And also that a reviewer felt the second song was funny, even thought he thought it was depressing.

The final song, “Easy to Persuade” is a fast-moving, multi-chord song with a fun chorus.  It completes the set very nicely.

I have enjoyed this Tiny Desk Concert many times, and am interested to hear more by him.

[READ: February 13, 2014] Bluffton

I want to call this book Bluffington for some reason, but that’s my fault.  Because Bluffton is the name of the (actual) location where the book is set, so I just need to deal with it.

The subtitle of the book was not readily visible when I read it, so I didn’t know it was about Buster Keaton (sorry for the spoiler).  It quickly became apparent that that’s who it was about though.  But what I really liked about the story was that it wasn’t about Keaton per se, it was about a boy who knew Keaton during the summers and how this enigmatic performer impacted his life.

This story is a delightful graphic novel, drawn in very delicate colors (like the cover).  Set in the summer of 1908, in Muskegon, Michigan, young Henry is pretty excited to learn that a troupe of vaudevillians is coming to stay for the summer in the artists’ colony at Bluffton.  The whole town is aware of them–how could they not be when a zebra and an elephant got off the train with them?  But Henry is more interested in a boy named Buster.  He’s Henry’s age, and although he’s a star of the show, Buster is far more interested in paying baseball.  And Henry is more than happy to do that too. (more…)

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