Sondre Lerche Sondre Lerche Sondre Lerche shares flamboyant 9-minute pop odyssey 'Follow The River'. New album 'Acrobats', out 21st Aug via PLZ / Virgin

 Acclaimed Norwegian singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche today releases euphoric new single 'Follow The River' - a flamboyant 9-minute pop-odyssey that captures the Norwegian songwriter in an unabashedly romantic, ecstatic state of mind, energised by renewed faith in love and life. 'Follow The River' marks the second reveal from Lerche's newly announced eleventh studio album 'Acrobats', out 21st August via PLZ / Virgin.

'Acrobats' - his first full-length of brand new music in over four years, marks the return of the beloved Norwegian artist with an album that’s bold and bombastic; a polarising reflection on the dichotomy of finding love while in times of soulless global unrest and unfathomable human atrocities.

Originally beginning life as “quite a small and simple song”, new single 'Follow The River' gradually expanded into what Lerche describes as his “very first disco odyssey” - a sprawling nine-minute epic in its full album form, packed with ever-new scenes, encounters and experiences.

Each of its six verses zooms in on the profound and mundane details of two lost dreamers meeting and falling in love through music, scent and taste, on breezy bar visits and through sticky, sweaty city streets in summer.

“This one doesn't make excuses for being completely overcome with feelings of love and desire,” says Lerche. “So naturally I thought, ‘I need a gospel choir on this,’ because it’s almost indulging, maybe, as an act of defiance, in the beauty of two humans finding each other, reveling in all the little, mundane moments of that.”

Featuring a rousing gospel-style choir and adlibs from singer Suzanne Sumbudu, 'Follow The River' stands in striking contrast to much of the wider 'Acrobats' album - unashamedly upbeat, optimistic and love drunk in all its glory.

Musically, the recording shamelessly embraces music history with nods to everyone from Pet Shop Boys, Janet Jackson and Steve Reich to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, which inspired the track after Lerche found himself “crying his eyes out” during a performance at the Oslo Opera. “It actually started out as quite a small and simple song, but the story expanded into more of an epic, and I felt the urge to turn the entire recording into a groovy adventure, with ever-new scenes, encounters, and experiences,” says Lerche. The track also features what is perhaps Lerche’s most natural and simplistic chorus so far in his ever-expanding catalogue.

Alongside the sprawling album version - which even includes its own remix in the spirit of Pet Shop Boys’ Introspective - the song will also be released as an elegant and concise single edit clocking in at four effective minutes before summer takes over.

The expansive album version features contributions from saxophonist Jonas Hamre, clarinetist Solveig Wang and vocalist Gabriela Garrubo, alongside Lerche’s longtime collaborators, drummer Dave Heilman and producer Kato Ådland.

'Acrobats' physical pre-order is available as a webstore exclusive 2xLP gatefold 'Splendor' edition including recent EP 'Turning Up The Heat Again', a standard 1xLP edition on transparent red vinyl, and CD.

Sondre Lerche's new album 'Acrobats' is out 21st August via PLZ / Virgin. Sondre Lerche will embark on an extensive headline tour in support of the new album, which will take him across the UK, Europe and the US. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit his website HERE.

LIVE DATES

September

• 10 - Boston, MA @ Arts at The Armory
• 12 - Washington, DC @ Miracle Theatre
• 13 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
• 15 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
• 16 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Cedar
• 19 - Los Angeles, CA @ Sid The Cat Auditorium
• 20 - Ojai, CA @ Ojai Women’s Club
• 21 - San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
• 24 - Portland, OR @ Mission Theater
• 25 - Seattle, WA @ Triple Door

October

• 01 - Bryne, NO @ Hvelvet Scene
• 02 - Stavanger, NO @Tou
• 03 - Skien, NO @ Parkbiografen
• 07 - Tromsø, NO @ Bryggeriet Scene
• 08 - Hammerfest, NO @Arktisk Kultursenter
• 09 - Alta, NO @ Rabagast
• 10 - Bodø, NO @ Beddingen Kulturhus
• 14 - Copenhagen, DK @ Rust
• 15 - Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
• 16 - Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
• 17 - Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
• 22 - Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
• 23 - Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
• 24 - Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
• 29 - Kongsberg, NO @ Energimølla
• 30 - Trondheim, NO @ Byscenen
• 31 - Sogndal, NO @ Sogndal Kulturhus

November

• 02 - Arhus, DK @ Train
• 03 - Stockholm, SE @ Hus7
• 04 - Gothenburg, SE @ Skeppet
• 12 - Lisbon, PT @ Univerdsidade Nova
• 13 - Aveiro, PT @ Teatro Aveirense
• 14 - Arcos de Valdevez, PT @ Casa das Artes
• 16 - Barcelona, ES @ Sala Upload
• 17 - Madrid, ES @ Sala B
• 20 - Vienna, AT @ Blue Bird Festival
• 21 - Torino, IT @ Spazio211
• 22 - Bologna, IT @ Baumhaus
• 23 - Milano, IT @ Arci Bellezza
• 27 - London, UK @ The Lower Third
• 29 - Utrecht, NL @ Vredenburg
• 30 - Breda, NL @ Mezz

December

• 02 - Groningen, NL @ Simplon

More about 'Acrobats'

Sondre Lerche has always been a romantic. Whether it be the songs he wrote as a teen for his critically acclaimed 2001 debut, 'Faces Down', scoring films like Dan in Real Life, or starring as the love-lorn Christian in the Norwegian stage production of Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

In 2026, though, his perspective of love is shot through with an element of rebellion. Lerche teased this new era with 'Turning Up The Heat Again', a preceding EP released earlier this year, meant as a palette cleanser to plant the flag and herald in his new chapter of releases.

Now fully-realised, the result is his 11th studio album, 'Acrobats', an eight-song suite that pingpongs between joy and introspection, loss and love.

“There’s a dissonance between the increasingly dystopian world we live in and finding beauty and peace in your private life. It feels almost like a paradox that I’m blessed to have landed in a life and a love that is very meaningful and true. And, at the same time, it feels impossible to write a love song without taking into account the unspeakable things that are happening in the world. Falling in love feels more and more like an act of defiance.”

Recorded across nine studios with a wide-ranging cast of creatives, 'Acrobats' is a sobering follow-up to 2022’s 'Avatars of Love' (“Lavishly orchestrated pop from Norwegian master craftsman" - 9/10 Uncut) - although no less brimming with passion. Lerche sees himself as the “curator” of the record, bringing in musician friends old and new to create delicate biomes of sound. There’s his long-time producers Matias Téllez and Kato Ådland, clarinet player Solveig Wang, saxophone player Jonas Hamre, singer Veslemøy Narvesen (who also happens to be one of Norway’s premiere jazz drummers), upright bass player Ole Morten Vågan, trombonist Emil Bø - and his longtime band: Dave Heilman on drums, Chris Holm on bass, and Alexander von Mehren on keys.

'Acrobats' - album tracklist

1. How Much Of This Was Planned

2. Little Kids

3. Drive Me Away From You

4. Love Is All

5. Follow The River

6. Acrobats

7. In The Time Before I Knew Her Well

8. Life-Changing Love