8 - Tuesday, February 13, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com It hurts, Sondre. It really hurts. By DEREK BARBER Daily Arts Writer Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche is in the midst of an identity cri- sis. While the lush and inventive pop of his 2002 debut Faces Down earned Lerche a Best New Artist award at the Norwe- sondre gian Grammys, his ore success didn't trans- Le late into U.S. sales. Phantom Punch That's not to say Astralwerks Lerche hasn't gone without American praise - both Faces Down and 2004's fol- low-up Two Way Monologue garnered a cult following of U.S. fans who swooned over his delicate tenor and Beatles-esque melodies. Lerche established himself as an emerging pop craftsmen of great potential. On 2006's Duper Sessions, Lerche did his best Chet Baker impersonation and recorded an acoustic jazz record, con- fusing fans and demonstrating artistic unpredictably. Duper Sessions, with its swinging, well-crafted tunes, was as humorous as it was endearing - a perfect birthday present for Mom. OnPhantom Punch, however, the laugh- ter falls flat. Lerche, joined by The Faces Down, leaves behind the subtlety and craft of previous records in favor of a bare- bones, punchy rock sound. Unfortunately, to the Lerche fan, the results feel less like a phantom punch and more akin to a slap in the face. If Lerche didn't quite live up to Chet Baker on Duper, he certainly doesn't live up to Elvis Costello on Phantom. On the high-strung and frantic rocker "The Tape," Lerche's vocal delivery is as forced as it is remarkably foreign to any of his previous croons. Lerche may be taking risks, but this doesn't excuse the creepy, carnival-esque feeling that lingers at the end of the tune. The song also features the worst harmonica solo ever recorded. On the ridiculously titled "Face the Blood," Lerche and band fail to capture anything other than a misguided and agitated romp through shrill, distorted. guitar chords. The chorus happens to be as singable as the theme from "Psycho." As Lerche urges the listener to "face the blood again, and again, and again, and again," it's almost as if we're being stabbed repeatedly. It hurts, Sondre. Please. It really hurts. The title track begins with a hack- Lerche's fans will need to hold on to their patience for this one. neyed, pentatonic guitar riff, ushering in yet another pop tune so uncatchy it's actually frightening. While the idea of psychotic disco in 3/4 time is indeed orig- inal, it sounds better on paper than on a record of any kind. In what appears tobea horrendous Hot Hot Heat impersonation, Lerche sings "You don't wanna feel the Phantom Punch / Isn't it already far too much?" He's telling us what we already know - no, indeed, we don't wanna feel it. Moreover, sampling a horse neighing in the middle of the bridge suggests even animals would be upset with this song (and who even knows if any were harmed during production). On "Tragic Mirror," Lerche momen- tarily returns to the refreshing familiarity of his acoustic guitar. His boyish falsetto, however, begins to wane a bit, and he sounds about as bored with the tune as the listener. tcoutesyefofAtrwenks It All" is only tune on the record which reflects his ability. This is no laughing matter. Phantom Punch is the result of a song- writer with a huge amount of talent mak- ing some very poor musical decisions. If Lerche and crew can shake what might be a marketing campaign to attract a broader audience, and return to the subtle elegance of his previous efforts, there's still hope for the singer-songwriter. As it stands, Phantom Punch is Lerche fans' worst nightmare. Those indie kids sure can dress. But the real tragedy of Phantom Punch is "Say It All." Interestingly enough, the song itself isn't to blame. On the contrary, it's a splendid, ultra-catchy pop gem and brings Lerche's subtlety back into the forefront. Joined by the gorgeous harmo- nies of Inara George, we find Lerche doing what he does best. Then, when Lerche croons, "You know the punch line - it's all in the punch line," emptiness sinks in. We discover the punch line - Lerche is completely capable of crafting infectious, sweeping yet subtle pop songs, and "Say r l This wa~y Start at Ernst & Young, and your career is headed in the right direction. With our award-winning training programs, you'll have the resources you need to enhance your skills. It's an environment that promotes your personal and professional growth and success. So there's only one way to go-up. Visit us on campus or at eycorm/us/careers. FORTUNE 100 BEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR° The best 10 torture scenes of the past 5 years By PAUL TASSI and KRISTIN MACDONALD Daily Arts Editors Whatever happened to sword- fights and shootouts? Welcome to the modern era. We're sadists - if someone's not screaming, what's the point? Daily Arts compiles the 10 best torture scenes of the past five y ears. "The Passion of the Christ" (2004) - Surprise, surprise. Mel Gibson takes the top spot. Do you see what Christ endured for you? Can you hear it? Smell it? Taste it? Mel Gibson will make you. His grand opus glorifying unbridled violence - I mean, Jesus - was enough to make secular stomachs everywhere start churn- ing. Sure, evangelicals might have been able to find salvation through guilt, but I'm pretty sure Jesus did some other things worth mention- ing besides being beaten with a whip coated in shards of glass. "The Last King of Scot- land" (2006)- Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) is already looking for the first plane out of Africa when dictator Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) finally catches up with him. The only thing worse than a pair of giant fishhooks through your pecs is being held aloft by a pair of giant fishhooks through your pecs. "Oldhoy" (2003)- Dae-su catches up with the man that kept him imprisoned in a room for15 years for no reason. Wanting to know why, he extracts each of the man's teeth with pliers until the information alsobegins gushing out. And I do mean gush- ing out. "Man on Fire" (2004) - Denzel duct tapes some sleazebag's hands to the steering wheel of his car. For every second said sleazebag doesn't give up information about where Dakota Fanning is, he loses whichever finger he likes the least, and it appears as if he really doesn't like most of his fingers all that much. Let's not even go into which orifice Denzel ends up sticking one very worrisome grenade. 5"Casino Royale" (2006) - Daniel Craig steps up to the plate as Bond only to find out he has to sit naked in a chair and have his balls wailed on for an hour. No wonder Pierce Brosnan quit. The worst part is that after the grape-mashing Bond becomes as domesticated as a housecat, gazing into his lady's eyes on some sunlit beach. It's as unnatural as watching Jack Bauer get a bikini wax. For the complete list, head over to our blog, The Filter, at michigandaily. com. Quality In Everything We Do © 2007 ERNsT & YouN ILP A