Seraphina Lotkhamnga on October 10th, 2014

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Norway-bred, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche has perhaps written his most raw album yet with “Please” (out now via his own imprint Mona Records). Fueled by his recent divorce with director Mona Fastvold, the new grittiness folded into Lerche’s high-energy shows added an interesting new depth to his appearance at the Troubadour on Wednesday. However, as angry, downcast or harrowing the messages of his new songs may be, it was a night of harmony as Lerche did old favorites and rollicking new tunes with some help from opening acts, fellow Brooklyn band TEEN and longtime friend and producer Hans Petter “HP” Gundersen.

• ||| Photos by Kelsey Heng

With TEEN members on backing vocals, Chris Holm on bass and Dave Heilman on drums, Lerche walked out to cheering crowd before going right into the percussion-heavy and fuzzed out “After the Exorcism.” Flipping his long blonde hair with each new chord progression, Lerche balanced suaveness and rock ’n’ roll attitude for his stage presence. Although he’s come a long way from “Faces Down” (his confessional debut released in the States when he was only 20 years old), the charm still stems from the blue-eyed baby face and pure croon.

“The exorcism is over!” Lerche exclaimed, adding “Let’s have some fun now!” before going into more new tunes like the schizophrenic “Bad Law” and the sweet slow jam “Crickets.” He followed with a stretch of songs from older albums “Faces Down” and “Bootlegs.” TEEN walked off stage before Lerche launched the lovely “You Know So Well” and the rest of the band also left him alone in the spotlight for the bluesy “My Hands Are Shaking.” It was an intimate moment as Lerche walked around the stage shouting the lyrics into the crowd, who were singing right along with him, and leaving only his electric guitar amplified. Holm and Heilman only joined him on stage again once Lerche was one verse deep into the beloved “Sleep On Needles,” which was perfect considering the song’s immediate buildup by the chorus.

Lerche slipped back into some of the heavier tunes off “Please” with psych-pop gem “At a Loss For Words” and the shoegazing “Sentimentalist.” But it didn’t come without the humor Lerche so ably provided. Joking about Holm and Heilman going on tour with him to sell merch, explaining how Arizona gave him a “high frequency” from a cold he caught, and saying “Shit’s intense” in regards to his backdrop (a blown-up image of a Lar Elling painting he used of his album cover), Lerche provided comic relief throughout the night. “This song is much jollier. It’s a song called ‘Lucifer’!” Lerche joked before playing the dark song juxtaposed with a light, tropical backbeat.

“Phantom Punch” (which was chosen by fans over “Private Caller” when he gave the crowd either option) was followed by his biggest hit “Two Way Monologue,” and this performance was perhaps one of the more special ones. Gundersen, who opened the night with his latest project The Last Hurrah!! (feat. Maesa), walked onto stage to do some soulful riffs. Because his guitar was not working, Lerche happily handed Gundersen his own instrument before gushing about the importance of his friend’s presence: “He met me when I was 13 and alone in this world. I played my shitty songs for him.” With his arm around Gunderson, he explained how they worked on “Faces Down” together and shared “We haven’t seen each other in years! Now he’s here in Los Angeles out of all places!” It was a heartfelt moment as the two shared an embrace to close out the main set.

But the show wasn’t over just yet. Coming back out to say “It’s good to feel someone is still on the receiving end of this!” Lerche then dove into “Legends” for the encore. Before going into “Lucky Guy,” he ripped off the set list and gave it to a fan. The final number left Lerche alone in the spotlight again (“The guys have to go sell merch, but I’ll play one more”), and despite requests being shouted from all corners of the venue the last number was an obvious one. “Modern Nature” prompted a duet with the crowd singing Lillian Samda’s part on record. It was yet another sing-a-long, but nothing else seemed more appropriate for such a collaborative night.