Norwegian singer-songwriter Lerche's Faces Down, landed on numerous critics' "best of" lists, including Rolling Stone's "The 10 Best Debut Albums" and "50 Best Albums of 2002." His fourth and latest full-length album, Phantom Punch, has been equally well received. "Shimmering melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and chord structures that veer from Brazilian pop to punk. What more could you ask for?" asked Interview while Entertainment Weekly said it "Evokes '80s Britpop at its zenith, with Duran Duran-ish guitars and synths underpinning lyrically self-aware ditties like the title track." Lerche will be supporting AIR on their upcoming U.S. dates.

Peter Hedges, the director and co-writer of Dan In Real Life, listened to 500 different artists while in pre-production for the film and kept coming back to Lerche. "The thing about Sondre's music is that it feels timeless to me," says Hedges. "There's a depth to it and you feel that this is a man who believes in love. The music is just infused with that feeling without being sappy or sentimental - which made it a complete dream for this story."

The music indeed sounds made for the movie, and it's no accident. Lerche attended rehearsals with the actors for inspiration. The result: a set of original songs that help establish the tone for the film's clever mix of conflicted love and family complications. For "Hell No," Lerche tapped New York-based singer-songwriter Regina Spektor for a duet. And although the soundtrack consists mainly of brand new songs, Lerche (who appears on-screen at the end of the film) had fun with a few cover songs, too.