Norwegian wonderboy Sondre Lerche masquerading about as a crooner of jazzy torch ballads? Is this for real? The singer-songwriter has always been much closer to moody minstrels like Elliott Smith than to big band singers like Harry Connick Jr., so it's understandable if this news sends a slight shiver down the spines of Lerche's fans. Happily, the music on Duper Sessions is in the same spirit of those old sultry, moody Chet Baker sides. Songs like the languid, sultry "You Knocked Me Off My Feet" feature Lerche in intimate melancholia, singing off a descending bass line while delicate, jazzy guitar chords accent his singing. The song sounds like an authentic jazz standard, at least as authentic as Lerche's cover of actual standard "Night And Day." While this is definitely a vanity project for the singer, it is not entirely a new direction for him. True, the production is drier and much more sparse than on his folk-rock albums, with a noticeable absence of strings and backing vocals. It is also true that Lerche's voice is less dramatically exercised than on previous outings. The clean production suits the material, though, and songs like the pedal-steel driven "Dead End Mystery" and the romantic ballad "You Sure Look Swell" actually would fit in nicely on previous efforts like Two Way Monologue. However, it is the overall heaviness, the atmospheric jazzy vision of this album that is calculated and effective. As side projects go, it's more successful than most, and it's a pleasant teaser before Lerche's next project.
