[Cover photo credit to Hilde Solli]
Norwegian Singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche has announced his new album, Acrobats, which will be released on August 21st, 2026, through PLZ/Virgin. This marks his first full-length album of new music in over four years, and is a “polarizing reflection on the dichotomy of finding love while in times of soulless global unrest and unfathomable human atrocities.”
Lerche has unveiled the first look at the album with “Little Kids,” a dreamy melody featuring string arrangements by Sean O’Hagan (High Llamas) and performed by the Stockholm Studio Orchestra, who recently played on Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl.
Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Lea Meyer, co-produced by Alexander von Mehren and Lerche, and mixed by Jørgen Trœen, the official video “inspires empathy and kindness towards our younger selves when seeking affirmation and love.”
Lerche says of the new track and video:
From the first verse’s innocent rejection, to the third verse’s plunge into premature adulthood, ‘Little Kids’ is about trying to avoid looking back in anger, and instead look back with newfound empathy and perspective on adolescent attempts at stumbling towards love, friendship and intimacy. It’s about forgiving who you were and who you were with, and that feeling we get when we see photos of ourselves and realize we were so much younger than we thought at the time. It’s personal, but highly universal.
For the first time in my career, I felt compelled to make a video that actually visualized elements of the lyrics. It’s not an adaptation, but something about the nature of these words made me not want to counter or contrast them this time, but rather follow them and elevate them. I had been lucky enough to meet Lea Meyer at a thing a while back and I just had an instinct that she’d get the song and that she’d be right for this. Drawing on some visual and thematic inspiration from the 1970 film A Swedish Love Story, we are introduced to three different couples, different ages and challenges. The results are a testament to Lea’s talent and unique touch. Her and her team were such a brilliant, beautiful group of young professionals who worked incredibly well and dedicated together. Obviously the song is very meaningful to me, but I am also so proud of this video.
He continues about the album:
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 musicians, Acrobats is a follow-up to 2022’s Avatars of Love. Lerche sees himself as the “curator” of the record, bringing in musician friends old and new to create sound worlds. There’s his long-time producers Matias Téllez and Kato Ådland, clarinet player Solveig Wang, saxophone player Jonas Hamre, singer Veslemøy Narvesen (one of Norway’s premiere Jazz drummers), upright bass player Ole Morten Vågan, trombonist Emil Bø, and his longtime band including Dave Heilman on drums, Chris Holm on bass, and Alexander von Mehren on keys.
An 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.
Lerche has also announced Fall tour dates later this year in support of the new album, which will take him across the US, Europe, and the UK.
Tour Dates:
09/10 – Boston, MA @ Arts at The Armory
09/12 – Washington, DC @ Miracle Theatre
09/13 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
09/15 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
09/16 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Cedar
09/19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Sid The Cat Auditorium
09/20 – Ojai, CA @ Ojai Women’s Club
09/21 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
09/24 – Portland, OR @ Mission Theater
09/25 – Seattle, WA @ Triple Door
10/15 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
10/16 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
10/17 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
10/22 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
10/23 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
10/24 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
11/12 – Lisbon, PT @ Auditório da Reitoria da UNL
11/13 – Aveiro, PT @ Teatro Aveirense
11/14 – Arcos de Valdevez, PT @ Casa das Artes
11/20 – Vienna, AT @ Blue Bird Festival
11/21 – Torino, IT @ Spazio211
11/22 – Bologna, IT @ Baumhaus
11/23 – Milano, IT @ Arci Bellezza
11/27 – London, UK @ Lower Third
11/29 – Utrecht, NL @ Vredenburg
11/30 – Breda, NL @ Mezz
12/02 – Groningen, NL @ Simplon
