For his upcoming self-titled album scheduled for a June 7 release on Mona Records, Lerche gathered up a few new acquaintances from the creative community residing in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn where the Norwegian-born singer-songwriter-guitarist has lived off and on for the past six years. Recorded live in the studio, Lerche was joined by such folks as Midlake drummer McKenzie Smith, Regina Spektor drummer Dave Heilman, mixer and owner of Rare Book Room Studio Nicolas Verhnes, and longtime producer / collaborator Kato Adland.

“Getting to work with my new friends was one of the highlights of this whole business,” Lerche said. “We recorded a lot of it to tape, forcing ourselves to either commit or burn bridges and move on. We were killing darlings left and right. It was truly liberating.”

Lerche will be giving fans a taste of the new album when he makes multiple appearances at the annual SXSW Music Festival in Austin this month, including the Paste Day party at the Stage On Six March 16, the Rawkblog Party at The Liberty as well as the Yep Roc showcase at Maggie Mae’s March 17 and the Bella Union / Zeitgeist showcase at Central Presbyterian Church March 18.

The tour begins with a couple of Canada gigs – Toronto at the Mod Club May 31 and Montreal’s Sala Rossa June 1 – followed by a long string of U.S. shows, including Boston’s Paradise June 2; New York City’s Bowery Ballroom June 4; Washington, D.C., at the 9:30 Club June 7; Denver’s Larimer Lounge June 21; San Francisco at Great American Music Hall June 28; Los Angeles at the El Rey Theatre June 29 and Solana Beach, Calif., at the Belly Up Tavern June 30.

A ticket presale that includes the option of buying the new album in CD or LP form began today via Lerche’s website and includes a free download of a new track from the disc entitled “Ricochet.” But you better hurry because the presale ends March 3 at 8 a.m. EST. Click here for the details.