Sondre Lerche Stays Mum on the Specifics So Not to 'Ruin' His Songs

Early in his career, Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerch says he always tried to find ways not to sound like himself. However, now that he's released six studio LPs, including his latest self-titled effort, Lerche finally seems comfortable with who he is.

"I don't think it's a big departure, but it does feel like an extension," Lerch tells Spinner of his new album.

"I've come more to terms with the fact that I sound like myself. No matter what I do, I sound like myself."

"It's a bit more candid and lyrically more intimate," he continues. "Serious sounds so boring, but lyrically it's the most concerned with what is actually going on, much more concerned with reality and not reverie in a way."

Over the course of his musical career, which kicked off with recording his debut, 'Faces Down,' in 2000, Lerche has stuck to material that's autobiographical. Although, at times he's delved into topical subject matter, albeit subtly, writing about personal experiences and composing melodic sounds to match continues to be his forte.

"Everything I do is very melodic, harmonically pretty juicy, so that's always a redeeming factor even when the subject matter becomes a little uncomfortable or unpleasant," he says. "One of the things I'm really thankful for is that you can write about stuff that is occasionally negative and not necessarily a pleasant experience, but when you turn it into a song and share it with an audience, it's usually always a positive experience or gets to be uplifting.

"I have songs that I touch upon things that go on outside of my own world, but I write a lot of songs so I always have more song than I need -- I don't know if it's a coincidence or it's maybe my instinct, but I've often ended up getting rid of those songs. There's a process of elimination there, and I guess there are a couple songs that didn't make this album that are a bit less on the introspective side."

Becoming comfortable with how he sounds isn't the only difference between the Lerche of old and now, he's also become accustomed to keeping mum about the details regarding the subject matter of his songs and, in the process, encouraging the listener to develop their own meaning.

"The most important thing to me is that people find their own stories and their own truths," he says. "That's the fun part and why I never really tell people much about the specifics of the songs, because I did that in the beginning and they'd be disappointed when they heard from my perspective what the song was about. You can ruin people's whole memory or experiences with a song, because it means something to them and it takes on completely different meaning.

"History shows us that the songs -- the myth, the experience and the emotion -- live longer the less you explain."

Watch Sondre Lerche Perform 'Private Caller'

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