Track Listing

1. Faking the Books
2. Call 1-800-Fear
3. Micronomic
4. B-Movie
5. Grin and Bear
6. Geography -5
7. Left Handed
8. Alienation
9. Crawling by Numbers
10. Hidden Track
11. Hidden Track

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28237 in Music
• Released on: 2008-05-19
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Music To Navigate Troubled Times
Probably, if I was to choose one country that has consistently given us people and bands that explored how Electronica could find fruitful bridges to Rock and Pop, I'd have to choose Germany. Whether you think of Tangerine Dream, Rodelius, Neu or Kraftwerk -to name a very few- Germans have led the way.
Now, or at least in recent years, it's the turn of Lali Puna, a band that is beginning to gain the recognition they deserve, although they remain the delight of select groups -and it's Thom Yorke's favorite German band, assuming such tidbit increases their appeal for you.
This is their third album, after the wonderful "Scary World Theory," and it's probably as satisfying a musical experience as its predecessor, perhaps fiercer, louder, and further defining their singular musical identity.
This is Electronica and Pop in a seamless dialogue, reaching some dark places which normally may not be associated with either musical form.
This is part of the soundtrack of the world post 9/11: somber and hopeful, reaching for firm ground in an unsteady ship. "Faking The Books" or "Call 1-800-fear" are particular examples of this.
And then, there's Valerie Trebeljahr's voice that crystallizes the band's mood, at once tender and fragile, guiding these songs without imposing herself yet making them special and more meaningful.
If you are interested in the new edges of popular music, the kind that attempts to move you without compromising its own vision, "Faking The Books" deserves your attention.

Leftfield pop masterclass from Germany
Germany's Lali Puna have produced a leftfield album of remarkable pop sensibilites and undoubtable mainstream appeal. Apparently Johnny Greenwood's favourite band, Lali Puna are pushing in the opposite direction to Radiohead by adding guitars to their sound and bringing their sensuous female vocalist up in the mix. Opener 'Faking the Book' echoes Radiohead's 'Everything in its Right Place' with its treated vocal loop and clinical melodies, but without sounding either plagiaristic or opaque. A hum-along pop aesthetic also drives 'Call 1-800-fear' and 'Micronomic', which layer sonic guitars over careful, layered production. 'B-Movie' survives some slightly grating 'political' lyrics with some splashy live drumming and soaring synths. While the lyrics also mar the slightly po-faced 'Grin and Bear' and 'Crawling by Numbers', Lali Puna more than compensate with the irrepressible single 'Left Handed' and the beautiful electronic balladry 'Alienation', which reminds of Bjork's Verspertine. Almost always compelling and buoyed by unfussy, smart production, 'Faking the Books' is a rare leftfield album with songs that actually get stuck in your head.

Speaking as a bit of an amateur
Ah the poblem of making electronica interesting and accessible, without sounding like zero 7. I've just bought Faking the Books and Tridecoder, but it is this that stands out immediately.

Its layered with cool rhythms and sounds, and the songs have some shape and purpose. Dont have any particular favourites as yet, but there's loads i like here, and even friends passing through my flat have reacted well, which is some endorsement indeed. Its got strong tunes, is just about varied enough, and there seems enough depth for me to get quite into this...

I read somewhere that Lali Puna were on the same journey that Radiohead are, but in reverse i.e. electronica to guitars, and this seems about right actually, and should give you a fairly representative idea of what sort of music this is.

I'll leave it to you, but this is best work of this type i've heard in a few years.