Liars in Love

The third album. Named after a Richard Yates short story. A song arc of sung duets about the disintegration of a loving relationship. Not a Hollywood drama. A domestic one.

Basic tracks for about twenty songs at Pink Noise Studios, Helsinki, in March and April 2005. No rehearsals first. Nobody had really heard the songs. Instruments swapped: Michael on drums and bass, Janne on bass and lead guitar, Nick on lead guitar, keyboards and glockenspiel. First or second takes. No editing.

Then home. One microphone, a very old PC, an out-of-tune piano. Nick and Astrid wrote the lyrics just before each vocal take, sitting across from each other, one line each. Twelve songs finished by November 2005. The rest left on the shelf.

Released by Kinkt Records on 12 April 2006. The single was “Let Me Out of Here”. Not on any streaming service.

Both sides of the story are in the essays “Some theory relating to Treeball” (Nick) and “Sugarcoated tears” (Astrid).

Credits

• Nick Triani: vocals, guitars, keyboards, glockenspiel. Astrid Swan: vocals, keyboards, pizzicato strings; lead vocal on “8 O’Clock”. Aleksi Mänttäri: bass. Janne Lehtinen: drums, bass, guitars. Michael McDonald: guitars, mandolins, drums, bass.
• “Under My Skin” written by Janne Lehtinen. Cello: Sanna.
• Michael on drums on “Are You Ever Gonna Wake Me Up”. Janne’s guitar line on “From the Past”.
• Recorded at Pink Noise Studios, Helsinki, and at home. Produced by Nick Triani.

Reviews

The dialogue between Nick and Astrid has developed to a point where it’s simply unparalleled… And the mandolin that ends the record is just great!

Ilkka Valpasvuo, Desibeli.net, 5 April 2006, ★★★★½

The first three tracks are crackling, and despite the slowdown towards the end, the rest of the album contains no misses either … Recommended purchase for all lovers of timeless guitar pop.

Hog Hansson, Noise.fi, April 2006, ★★★★

Baroque pop and more traditional guitar rock live in peace mixing tenderness and insults together. Liars in Love is a great soundtrack for next summer’s intimate moments.

Markku Roinila, Rumba, April 2006, ★★★

Timeless pop music as it’s meant to be played. Full of heart and soul.

Vesa Lautamäki, Onechord.net, May 2006, ★★★★

Treeball’s 3rd long player, and the band’s most original, stylish atmospheric pop album.

Ari Väntänen, Sue, May 2006, ★★★★

There certainly aren’t too many bands like Treeball in Finland.

Kirsi Hantula, MTV3, May 2006