by      

Synne S. B. Bønes

Sondre Lerche returned Friday with his new, 14-song double album Avatars of Love.

It's a stunning, truly fascinating record, featuring contributions from the likes of AURORA, CHAI and Dirty Projectors' Felicia Douglass. Additionally, the album's arrival coincides with the release of a new video for the closing track "Alone in the Night," featuring AURORA.

“‘Alone In The Night’ was the first recording I did for the Avatars of Love album," says Lerche. "It put everything in motion, and surprised me greatly. I heard AURORA's voice singing it in my mind one day when I was out running in the sun. So I asked her if she'd sing it with me. It felt extra special, because I had just returned home to Bergen after 15 years of living in the U.S. And she was one of the first to greet me there."

He continues: "It's a song about what happens to our bodies and souls when we fall in love, and then again through the passage of time, when we age and die. It's ultimately about our memories and dementia. How frail we really are, and how heartless the process of aging can be to lovers."

Of the album itself, Lerche adds: “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.”

Later this month, Lerche will head out on his first North American tour in more than five years. It includes stops in Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Boston, New York, Atlanta and more.

Sondre Lerche's live schedule:
4/09 — Berlin, DE – Badehaus
4/10 — Amsterdam, NL – Tuinzaal
4/13 — Dublin, IE – Pepper Cannister Church
4/15 — Manchester, UK – Gullivers
4/16 — London, UK – The Grace
4/17 — Paris, FR – 1999
4/18 — Zurich, CH – Photobastei
4/19 — Milano, IT – Biko
4/29 — Vancouver, BC — Fox Cabaret
4/30 — Seattle, WA — Crocodile *
5/01 — Portland, OR — Doug Fir *
5/03 — San Francisco, CA — The Chapel *
5/05 — Los Angeles, A — Masonic Lodge *
5/06 — San Diego, CA — Soda Bar *
5/07 — Palm Springs, CA — The Alibi *
5/08 — Phoenix, AZ — Valley Bar *
5/10 — Santa Fe, NM — Meow Wolf *
5/11 — Fort Collins, CO — Aggie Theatre *
5/12 — Denver, CO — Swallow Hill *
5/14 — Minneapolis, MN — The Parkway *
5/15 — Chicago, IL — City Winery *
5/17 — Ann Arbor, MI — The Ark *
5/19 — Millersville, PA — Phantom Power *
5/20 — Boston, MA — City Winery *
5/21 — New York, NY — LPR *
5/22 — Pawling, NY — Daryl's House
5/24 — Philadelphia, PA — City Winery *
5/25 — Washington, DC — City Winery *
5/27 — Atlanta, GA — City Winery *
5/28 — Louisville, NY — Zanzabar *
5/29 — Nashville, TN — City Winery *
6/15 — Bergen, NO — Bergenfest
8/15 — Oslo, NO — Øya festival

* with mmeadows