As with jazz-oriented departure Duper Sessions, Phantom Punch is a group effort. Sure, Norway's favorite son is still at the center of the action, but his fourth is billed as Sondre Lerche and the Faces Down. In other words, this isn't a singer/songwriter affair, but rather Lerche (vocals, guitar), Ole Ludvig Krüger (drums), Morten Skage (bass, percussion), and Kato Ådland (guitar, keyboards) on power-pop pills. (Inara George from the Bird and the Bee contributes backing vocals.) While the album isn't a complete change of pace, it does represent a shift into slightly harder-edged territory. Like shoes that haven't been broken in yet, the results are mostly successful (they look sharp, but pinch a bit). Lerche has never denied a debt to tour mate Elvis Costello, but now he’s sounding a little like Costello's pals in Squeeze, surely one of the most tuneful acts to emerge from the new wave era. If Phantom Punch has a flaw, it's that Lerche's hooks aren't as pointed as they could be, a problem with his work since auspicious debut Faces Down. Granted, it isn't a major matter, and beautifully sung numbers like "Say It All" and "John, Let Me Go" are among his best. But he hasn't yet drafted a ditty as memorable as, say, "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)," and there's no doubt he's got the talent to do it. --Kathleen C. Fennessy