Sondre Lerche

"Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" (Owen Pallett cover)

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Dec 24, 2010

Keeping up with the spirit of the season, Norwegian singer Sondre Lerche has released a last-minute Christmas gift to his fans: a take on classical-music-minded pop orchestrator Owen Pallett's "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt." Lerche's version strips down Pallett's whimsically massive string, brass and keyboard arrangement to a lone acoustic guitar, but the crooner's minimalist take is no less magical.

Lerche wrote on his website that he tried tackling Janelle Monáe's "Tightrope" and Rihanna's "What's My Name," but neither sounded quite right.

"In the end, I broke a string doing a song from what is probably my favourite record of the year, Owen Pallett's Heartland, which means most of my friends know what they're getting from me this year," he said. "And now you know too."

Despite how soft he plays the bulk of the tune -- he breathily coos his verses -- you can actually sense the intensity of his string-snapping strum by songs end.

You can download the track on Lerche's website here.

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