Rolling toward rock, Lerche shows his sharp side
Norway's Sondre Lerche is a man of his word. Inspired by touring with Elvis Costello last year, the 24-year-old singer and songwriter -- known for his twee folk-pop and a low-key jazz album -- announced he would recast himself as a rocker. Lerche's new album, "Phantom Punch," is -- as promised -- a collection of sharp, pithy tunes. They bristle with spirit and energy, and so did Lerche's sold-out show at the Paradise on Friday. The effusive new songs were mixed in and among gentle, swooning moments from "Faces Down" and swinging nuggets from "Duper Sessions," and while a lesser performer might have come off as a dilettante, Lerche proved himself the opposite: a nimble pop craftsman with serious chops and impressive range.
"Phantom Punch" sounds like the Scandinavian answer to XTC, all speedy chord changes, blissful hooks, and meticulously shifting dynamics. Lerche was likewise charming -- a witty host and fetching frontman whose passion for a great melody was the thread connecting stiff little rocker "The Tape" to country-swing ditty "The Curse of Being in Love" to bouncy, Beatles-eque "All Luck Ran Out." It helped enormously to have a loose-limbed backing trio (named the Faces Down) versed in Tin Pan Alley and enamored of rock riffage. Unlike so many of his modern-pop peers, Lerche has been blessed with sincere affection for more than a half-century of popular music and the ability to transpose his devotion into something innocent and fresh-sounding. His brief but striking career so far promises a long and fruitful musical future.
Lerche's Astralwerks labelmate and Martha's Vineyard native Willy Mason isn't sure if he's a sweet Johnny Cash or a rootsy John Mayer; at 23, he could still go either way. Unfortunately, nothing in Mason's opening set -- which was heavy (literally and figuratively) with earnest music from this year's sophomore album, "If the Ocean Gets Rough" -- rivaled the appeal of "Oxygen," the counter-culture anthem Mason penned as a prodigal teen.
Thomas Dybdahl, another young Norwegian singer-songwriter, began the evening singing dusky ballads in a warm, silken singing voice that evoked Chet Baker and Tim Buckley.
Joan Anderman can be reached at anderman@globe.com. For more on music visit boston.com/ae/music. 