Sondre Lerche

Say thank you to Dan in Real Life director Peter Hedges; he’s waiting for it following a pre-emptive “you’re welcome” in the film soundtrack’s liner notes. And we should be grateful, not because Hedges has given us another movie where Steve Carell struggles dryly with adult relationships, but because he let Sondre Lerche score it. The Norwegian singer/songwriter, well-known for his creamy, lounge-ready vocals, jazzy pop arrangements and hopeless romanticism, composed 13 original tracks – 11 of them brand-spanking-new – for the film. (No matter that he just released the full-length Phantom Punch last January.) “My Hands Are Shaking” is a bare-bones acoustic ditty strummed with lovelorn urgency. The vibraphone sparkles around Lerche’s falsetto tangents on “To Be Surprised,” and he pleads with Regina Spektor throughout the remorseful duet “Hell No.” He also covers Elvis Costello’s “Human Hands” and Pete Townshend’s “Let My Love Open the Door.” So, yeah, thanks Peter. One can only hope that your movie does its soundtrack justice. 3 stars.