The prolific, sunny Norwegian Sondre Lerche [ tickets ] proffers the most challenging album of his decade-long, six-album career. It's an impressive mixture of the elements heard on his previous records--the '60s-rooted chamber pop of his first two albums, the jazzy crooner orientation of "Duper Sessions" and the punchy new wave of his last disc, "Phantom Punch"--combined in a way that celebrates Lerche's musical craftsmanship and his ability to gather ace musicians.

The album has an impressive flow greatly assisted by smart orchestrations and an effervescence in the melodies. Aside from "Like Lazenby," an ode to the style of the one-time James Bond actor, Lerche avoids cuteness, even when he gets self-referential in tracks such as "Heartbeat Radio" and the neo-show tune "Words & Music," two songs in which he is keenly aware of the emotional consequences of an effective pop song.

His songs posses the wordiness of a conversation in a car, the spirit of the arrangements suggesting the drives are being taken on a sunny summer day. Lerche's musical language has an indebtedness to the Smiths at their cheeriest, XTC in the mid-'80s and pinch of David Byrne without the stridency.

Kato Adland, who has played multiple instruments on the previous four albums, returns in the multi-instrumentalist role as well as arranging and producing. The continuity in personnel seemingly affects the willingness to experiment, which in this case means expanding the vision as a cogent whole.