The movie, which stars The Office's Steve Carell deals with Dan, a family advice columnist. Dan seems to have all the answers, but no way of applying them to his own life.
Lerche has composed 11 original tracks for the soundtrack, which also features some of his previously released songs as well as a duet with Regina Spector and a remake of Pete Townsend's "Let My Love Open The Door."
"I started writing songs immediately after I met Peter," says Lerche about the process of composing his first filmscore, "I recorded a lot of demos in my New York bedroom and did a session with the Faces Down in Duper Studio right after Christmas where we recorded a bunch of songs that I had written with Dan In Real Life in mind."
Lerche worked closely with the director, and in addition to even appearing on screen in the final scene of the film with his band, Faces Down, coached Steve Carell in his performance of "Let My Love Open The Door" in the film. "Peter brought me in time and again to experience all kinds of unusual things that have helped me get into the right groove," says Lerche.
The soundtrack was released in the US in October 2 on Capitol, which is a larger EMI affiliate than Astralwerks, the label that handles Lerche's other US releases. The Seattle Post Intelligencer compares it to the score for the Francis Ford Coppola film One From The Heart by Tom Waits. The Daily Beacon Online claims that "those who enjoy listening to the complicated but brilliant things that emerge from the frontiers of musical exploration will want to make themselves acquainted with Lerche’s music."