published by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release

Acclaimed Norwegian singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche releases euphoric new single Follow The River – a flamboyant 9-minute pop-odyssey that captures the Norwegian songwriter in an unabashedly romantic, ecstatic state of mind, energised by renewed faith in love and life. Follow The River marks the second reveal from Lerche’s newly announced eleventh studio album Acrobats, out on Friday 21 August via PLZ / Virgin.

Acrobats – his first full-length of brand new music in over four years, marks the return of the beloved Norwegian artist with an album that’s bold and bombastic; a polarising reflection on the dichotomy of finding love while in times of soulless global unrest and unfathomable human atrocities.

Originally beginning life as “quite a small and simple song”, new single Follow The River gradually expanded into what Lerche describes as his “very first disco odyssey” – a sprawling nine-minute epic in its full album form, packed with ever-new scenes, encounters and experiences.

Each of its six verses zooms in on the profound and mundane details of two lost dreamers meeting and falling in love through music, scent and taste, on breezy bar visits and through sticky, sweaty city streets in summer.

“This one doesn’t make excuses for being completely overcome with feelings of love and desire,” says Lerche. “So naturally I thought, ‘I need a gospel choir on this,’ because it’s almost indulging, maybe, as an act of defiance, in the beauty of two humans finding each other, reveling in all the little, mundane moments of that.”

Featuring a rousing gospel-style choir and adlibs from singer Suzanne Sumbudu, Follow The River stands in striking contrast to much of the wider Acrobats album – unashamedly upbeat, optimistic and love drunk in all its glory.

Musically, the recording shamelessly embraces music history with nods to everyone from Pet Shop Boys, Janet Jackson and Steve Reich to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, which inspired the track after Lerche found himself “crying his eyes out” during a performance at the Oslo Opera. “It actually started out as quite a small and simple song, but the story expanded into more of an epic, and I felt the urge to turn the entire recording into a groovy adventure, with ever-new scenes, encounters, and experiences,” says Lerche. The track also features what is perhaps Lerche’s most natural and simplistic chorus so far in his ever-expanding catalogue.

Alongside the sprawling album version – which even includes its own remix in the spirit of Pet Shop Boys’ Introspective – the song will also be released as an elegant and concise single edit clocking in at four effective minutes before summer takes over.

The expansive album version features contributions from saxophonist Jonas Hamre, clarinetist Solveig Wang and vocalist Gabriela Garrubo, alongside Lerche’s longtime collaborators, drummer Dave Heilman and producer Kato Ådland.

‘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.

Sondre Lerche‘s new album ‘Acrobats’ is out 21st August via PLZ / Virgin. Sondre Lerche will embark on an extensive headline tour in support of the new album, which will take him across the UK, Europe and the US. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit his website HERE.

Published post no.2,921 – Thursday 18 June 2026