Artist: Sondre Lerche
Album: 'Dan In Real Life' soundtrack
Label: Capitol

Something about soundtracks to off-beat movies attracts the best and most brilliant minds in music. Since the much-adored "Garden State" soundtrack brought mellow brilliance to light, other quirky movie music has followed suit.

The soundtrack to the new Touchstone production "Dan in Real Life" is another in a chain of incredible film scores that will make indie kids everywhere shiver with delight. Sondre Lerche, the talented young Norwegian who has been crafting incredible pop songs since before his 2002 release Faces Down, was in charge of the entire soundtrack and utilized his clever lyrical skill and compositional genius in the best way possible.

The album is primarily jazz-infused, and its cool undertones make it a perfect album for fall.

One of the most exciting tracks is the duet between Lerche and New York songstress Regina Spektor titled "Hell No." It is modeled after classic love songs, with a sweet back-and-forth playfulness, which makes it very intimate, and silly lyrics about the "rules" of courtship. There are also a few tracks from past Lerche albums, such as the energy-packed "Airport Taxi Reception" off this year's Phantom Punch, the straight-out-of-a-jazz-bar "Human Hands" off 2006's Duper Sessions and "Modern Nature" from Faces Down, another sweet duet about love prevailing during these modern times.

Some of the most excellent tracks, however, are soundtrack-only releases. Particularly, "To Be Surprised" is a relaxing song that seems to transport its listener to a place where leaves on trees change to deep reds and golden oranges, where streams flow gently alongside dirt roads and where you might wear a big, comfy striped sweater. In short, it is lovely. "My Hands Are Shaking," an acoustic ballad, is incredibly catchy, and Lerche's cover of Pete Townsend's "Let My Love Open The Door" is a fun, danceable interpretation adorned with strings that would make Eleanor Rigby proud.

The only poor track on the album is A Fine Frenzy's cover of "Fever." It is unfortunate that a singer as talented as Alison Sudol would produce such a forced and uncomfortable cover. Perhaps it is because "Fever" has been covered so much, but this particular interpretation just comes off constipated. Despite this, the album maintains its sophistication and brilliance. If you've been looking for that perfect autumnal soundtrack, this is it.

- Caitlin Wittlif

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