Sondre Lerche shares 'Love Is All', final preview of new album 'Acrobats' out 21st Aug via PLZ / Virgin

Acclaimed Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche today shares new single 'Love Is All', the final preview of his forthcoming album Acrobats, out 21st August via PLZ / Virgin.

Following the buoyant album opener ‘Little Kids’ and the sprawling, nine-minute disco odyssey ‘Follow The River’, ‘Love Is All’ reveals the record’s quieter, most intimate side. A whisper-soft chamber-pop song led by Lerche’s voice and Solveig Wang’s winding clarinet, the song depicts two people finding each other in a bar against the backdrop of a world overwhelmed by man-made disasters.

“‘Love Is All’ felt like the emotional centrepiece of the album pretty early on,” Lerche explains. “There was something about the combination of resignation and hope that resonated and carried onwards throughout the writing and recording of Acrobats.

“Looking back, I think I was subconsciously inspired by the economical and patient poetry of some of my favourite songs by The Blue Nile: holding back and allowing space and minimalism before the big release at the end. The ghost of Ryuichi Sakamoto was also present in the process.

“I did an all-nighter out on the town the night before recording the vocals because I felt the performance needed to be straining and struggling more with the words and the melody.”

Acrobats, Lerche's first full-length collection of entirely new music in over four years, is an ambitious and open-hearted reflection on the tension between falling in love and living through a period of global unrest and unfathomable human suffering.

Partly inspired by Lerche's experiences performing on a Joni Mitchell tribute jazz tour and witnessing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at the Oslo Opera House, the new album features arrangements by Sean O’Hagan of The High Llamas, alongside performances from the Stockholm Studio Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra and a cast of Norwegian jazz and classical musicians.

'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 palate 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 artwork 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