Track Listing

1. Airport Taxi Reception
2. The Tape
3. Say It All
4. Phantom Punch
5. Tragic Mirror
6. Face The Blood
7. John, Let Me Go
8. Well Well Well
9. After All
10. She's Fantastic
11. Happy Birthday Girl

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39510 in Music
• Released on: 2007-02-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced

Amazon.com
As with jazz-oriented departure Duper Sessions, Phantom Punch is a group effort. Sure, Norway's favorite son is still at the center of the action, but his fourth is billed as Sondre Lerche and the Faces Down. In other words, this isn't a singer/songwriter affair, but rather Lerche (vocals, guitar), Ole Ludvig Krüger (drums), Morten Skage (bass, percussion), and Kato Ådland (guitar, keyboards) on power-pop pills. (Inara George from the Bird and the Bee contributes backing vocals.) While the album isn't a complete change of pace, it does represent a shift into slightly harder-edged territory. Like shoes that haven't been broken in yet, the results are mostly successful (they look sharp, but pinch a bit). Lerche has never denied a debt to tour mate Elvis Costello, but now he’s sounding a little like Costello's pals in Squeeze, surely one of the most tuneful acts to emerge from the new wave era. If Phantom Punch has a flaw, it's that Lerche's hooks aren't as pointed as they could be, a problem with his work since auspicious debut Faces Down. Granted, it isn't a major matter, and beautifully sung numbers like "Say It All" and "John, Let Me Go" are among his best. But he hasn't yet drafted a ditty as memorable as, say, "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," and there's no doubt he's got the talent to do it. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

First Timer
I stole this CD from my wife a few months ago, and just got around to listening to it. This is the first that I have heard from this man, and I am blown away. This doesn't sound like the same old s#!t to me. There is a very distinct sound here. I am confused at how he uses these Jazz/off the wall chords and incorporates them into pop perfection. Amazingly beautiful sound. I love the energy in his songs.

Plus, there is plenty of witty songwriting going on here. First track, Airport Taxi Reception, hooked me into his sound and each song is just as rewarding. The track Phantom Punch will blow your ears out in the best way possible. If you are new to Sondre Lerche, I would say pick this album up and hopefully you will have a similar experience to what I did. My wife will not be getting it back anytime soon = )

Wow, I guess I'm the loner here...
...but I hate this CD! I love Sondre's first two CDs because the words and the instrumentation were so unusual and interesting. I do enjoy the Sessions Jazz CD, so it's not like I hate change and experimentation. But I think I'm disappointed because the change in sound is SO drastic that it sounds nothing like him. Instead it sounds like something any guitar-driven band could do.

I wish someone would have warned me (more bluntly I guess) that just because I liked his previous work does not mean I'll like this one.

Everything Sondre
Being a musician, a DJ, and a music critic, I've had a chance to hear Sondre's previous work. He went from pure singer-songwriter, to jazz musician, to now rocker. This record, "Phantom Punch", seems to combine all of these elements into one. At times, he even seems to go back to an earlier time of catchy guitar riffs and a definite connection between musicians. I'm sure we have that now, but listen to "John Let Me Go" and you'll hear exactly what I mean. For a more stripped back feel, reminiscent of Sondre's first CD years ago, check out "Tragic Mirror". The first song I heard from this record was his single "Phantom Punch", which still stands out in my mind as perfection.

If you have ever been a fan of Sondre Lerche, buy this album. If you have never heard him, listen, and then buy this album.