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Jan 05, 2022 By Joey Arnone Photography by Tonje Thilesen

Norwegian-born/American-based singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche has announced the release of a new double album, Avatars of Love, which will be out on April 8 via PLZ/InGrooves. Lerche has also shared two tracks from the album, “Cut” and “Turns Out I’m Sentimental After All,” along with a Jon Danovic-directed video for “Cut.” Check out the two new tracks, along with the album’s tracklist and cover art, below.

In a press release, Lerche states: “I originally wrote ‘Cut’ imagining a love affair between actors on a film set, where the lines are constantly blurred between what is real, what’s performative. I saw it as a film noir, but during the recording it no longer felt black and white, it felt colorful and erotic and it reminded me of some of Brian De Palma’s ’80s neo-noir films that I love. The music video also captures some of this.

“‘Turns Out I’m Sentimental After All’ was the last song I wrote before leaving LA right as the pandemic started. I like the contrast between it and ‘Cut,’ which it follows on the album. ‘Cut’ tries to capture an ephemeral feeling that may not even be real, while ‘Sentimental’ can’t help but fall back into nostalgia, while second guessing a central life choice. I remember thinking of ‘Both Sides Now,’ and how Joni wrote that so young, and how she probably could add many new verses and perspectives to it later in life, if need be. And I thought about some of my own songs where I made statements that no longer correspond with the way I see the world or myself. So it’s also an ode to songs and the many truths and phases they document and contain. It’s a very special and tender song to me.”

Lerche adds, regarding the creation of his new sprawling double album: “This is without a doubt the biggest, boldest, most complex thing I’ve ever done. At the same time, it was also the easiest, most natural, and most liberating. As an artist, it’s the kind of project you always dream about.”

The upcoming album features guest appearances from CHAI, Felicia Douglass (Dirty Projectors), Mary Lattimore, Rodrigo Alarcon, and Ana Müller.

Back in October, Lerche shared the 10-minute album track “Dead of the Night,” which was one of our Songs of the Week. His most recent album, Patience, came out in 2020 via PLZ.

Lerche is among the artists featured on our Covers of Covers album, which will be out on March 4 via American Laundromat.

Avatars of Love Tracklist:

LP 1:

1. Guarantee That I’d Be Loved
2. Dead of the Night
3. Will We Ever Comprehend (feat. Rodrigo Alarcon, Ana Müller)
4. Cut
5. Turns Out I’m Sentimental After All
6. What Makes Me Tick
7. My Love Still Waits

LP 2:

8. Avatars of Love
9. Summer In Reverse (feat. CHAI)
10. Now She Sleeps Beside Me
11. Special Needs (feat. Felicia Douglass)
12. The Other Side of Ecstasy
13. Magnitude of Love (feat. Mary Lattimore)
14. Alone in the Night

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