As Ryan Leas wrote last year, it just wouldn’t be Christmas without a new Sondre Lerche cover. Indeed, every year at Christmastime, the Norwegian indie-pop staple puts out a new cover song; last year’s was a rendition of Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More.” In recent years, Lerche has also sent us renditions of Selena Gomez’s “Bad Liar,” Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next,” and Lady Gaga and Grande’s “Rain On Me” (with a bonus cover of Dylan’s “I Contain Multitudes”). This year, Lerche has circled back with a super-timely cover of Taylor Swift’s much-TikTok’d Midnights single “Anti-Hero.”

Here’s a special note from Lerche, who released Avatars Of Love in April:

Hey there,

I wanted to take the opportunity to send love and thanks to all who have embraced «Avatars Of Love» and kept it warm with me through this otherwise distressful year. Creating this album was the intense joy of a lifetime, and sharing it on record and on stage has been a thrill. I’m so proud of the work, and my many vital collaborators. My beautiful band for almost 12 years now; Dave Heilman, Chris Holm and Alexander von Mehren. My various production partners on this gigantic undertaking; Kato Ådland, Matias Tellez, Vetle Junker, Jørgen Trœen, as well as Alexander and Chris in ever-new fantastic capacities. And my phenomenal and generous guest performers on the album; Mary Lattimore, CHAI, AURORA, Felicia Douglass, Rodrigo Alarcon, Ana Müller and Kjetil Møster. String arranger Sean O’Hagan, who I’ve worked with since «Faces Down», and Øyvind Torvund, who I worked with for the first time here.

As tradition would have it, today Matias and I gathered at his studio in Bergen and picked a huge, great hit from the year that’s passed us by to record a version of. I think we both felt less up to speed with what the big songs of the year were, as we’ve both been preoccupied with our own music moreso than ever in 2022. I’m not always sure what makes me want to cover one song, and why I’m less interested in another. It doesn’t always make sense. We considered «As It Was», which we both enjoy, along with the rest of the world. But if you squint that recording already sounds kinda reminiscent of some stuff we might have been doing some years ago. «Break My Soul» is fab, and an exciting/terrifying idea. Without those amazing Big Freeda samples, I could only let myself + the world down. I woke up thinking I was gonna do «About Damn Time» but by the time we were rolling, we were going elsewhere. Although this year’s choice has been plenty covered and talked about, Matias and I felt a certain pull towards it and obeyed our instincts yet again. We wanna be sexy babies too!

Just a little over a year and a half ago we recorded «Avatars Of Love», the title track from my album, right here in this studio. Among the albums I mention in that song were «folklore» and «evermore» by Taylor Swift, along with a myriad of songs and artists I deeply appreciate and admire. So please accept this strange full circle in the form of this year’s holiday offering. And gratitude to Taylor Swift for keeping it coming and for indulging (or suing) us.

I hope you can find enjoyment in «Anti-hero» and even if you don’t, thanks for rooting for me.

Much love and holiday cheer,

SL

So, would we say he’s “slowly LERCHE-ING toward your favorite city”? Sorry, I had to. Listen to Sondre covering “Anti-Hero” below.