Thomas Dybdahl & Sondre Lerche

TWO NORWEGIAN MUSICIANS go on tour in America — and get trapped in Montana by a snowstorm. It sounds like the set-up for a bad joke at a Sons of Norway convention, but it happened recently to singer-songwriters Sondre Lerche and Thomas Dybdahl, who got stranded in the Treasure State for three days, mostly in the tiny town of Hardin.

"I never heard of it before; now I know it all too well," joked Lerche, who has toured the U.S. several times.

"I probably didn't get to see the best side of Hardin," said Dybdahl. "This was just an intersection with three casinos and a McDonalds."

While relative unknowns here, Lerche and Dybdahl are stars in Norway, topping the charts with their sophisticated, intelligent pop music.

"Thomas is one of the biggest artists in Norway," said Lerche, who is traveling with his backing band, The Faces Down. "So for him to come here and play solo, open every night on his first ever tour of the States, that's a really special thing."

"I'm the Lone Ranger," Dybdahl laughed. "But it's fine. I haven't done that in years, actually. It's all about becoming friendly with the acoustic guitar again and also a little bit about confidence."

Lerche's music usually evokes bossa nova and Burt Bacharach. But for his new CD, "Phantom Punch," Lerche looked to the early '80s for inspiration, citing the jagged sounds of Orange Juice, XTC and Elvis Costello. The album is his most immediate and personal yet. Lerche said he knew that producer Tony Hoffer has "done a lot of beautifully produced records — and I didn't want this one to be one of them."

Of course, "Phantom Punch" is beautiful in many spots — the lovely Lerche just can't help it. That's also true of Dybdahl's latest, "Science." While his gorgeous and rangy singing recalls that of the Buckleys (Tim and Jeff), Dybdahl's folky music is colored by inventive arrangements that incorporate avant-garde classical and jazz elements. But what stands out most are Dybdahl's passionate, soaring vocal melodies.

Actually, kindred souls Lerche and Dybdahl could create beautiful music together, but a snowbound jam session didn't happen in Montana. In fact, Lerche's mind was on something else. "I saw 'The Shining' again a couple of months ago," he said, "and that was what I thought about: This could be a 'Shining' moment — who's going to tip over first?"

» Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave, Alexandria; with Willy Mason, Thu., 7:30 p.m., $19.50; 703-549-7500.

Sondre Lerche photo by Ruvan Wijesooriya
Thomas Dybdahl photo by Jean-Baptiste Mondino