Book of Lies is the second album by Australian power pop

Power pop

Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...

 band End of Fashion

End of Fashion

End of Fashion are an Australian power pop band from Perth, Western Australia. The band consists of singer and guitarist Justin Burford, guitarist Rodney Aravena, bassist Simon Fasolo, and drummer Mike Hobbs. The group gained mainstream attention with their 2005 single "O Yeah", which reached...

. The album was released on 27 September 2008 on Capitol

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

/EMI

EMI Records

EMI Records is the flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia label. The EMI label was launched worldwide...

. It was recorded in Perth, Western Australia

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, co-produced by Magoo

Magoo (Australian producer)

Magoo is the professional name of Lachlan Goold, a multi award-winning Australian music producer based in Brisbane, Australia. With his business partner Jeff Lovejoy, Magoo operates Black Box Recording, a Brisbane-based recording facility....

 (Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...

, Powderfinger

Powderfinger

Powderfinger was an Australian rock band that formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their breakup the band lineup consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins, and drummer Jon Coghill....

, Regurgitator

Regurgitator

Regurgitator are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, currently consisting of Quan Yeomans , Ben Ely and Peter Kostic . The band formed in 1994, its original line-up consisting of Yeomans, Ely and drummer Martin Lee...

) and Andy Lawson (Little Birdy

Little Birdy

Little Birdy are an Australian indie rock band formed in Perth, Western Australia in 2002 by singer and guitarist Katy Steele, drummer Matt Chequer, guitarist and keyboardist Simon Leach, and bass guitarist Scott O'Donoghue...

), mixed by Tim Palmer (U2

U2

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

, The Cure

The Cure

The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...

, Robert Plant

Robert Plant

Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...

) in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, and mastered by Stephen Marcussen (R.E.M.

R.E.M.

R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...

, Rolling Stones, Stevie Nicks

Stevie Nicks

Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...

, Tom Petty

Tom Petty

Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...

).

Background

Bass player Tom King explained that Magoo provided the inspiration for the album's title: "It started off with Magoo keeping a journal in the studio, which we dubbed 'the book of lies'."

In an interview with Xpress Magazine, lead singer Justin Burford explained:

The biggest point of difference between the first record and this one is the time we took preparing. The preparation time for the first album was like, a couple of years on the road. So we were basically like a garage pop band who went into a studio. Dennis didn't really give us the chance to develop or grow beyond that. It was like what we knew went onto the record. This time it was... like an exam. We studied way harder, just the preparation was far more intense. Once we had a pretty good idea of what everything was going to sound like, we didn't need much time in the studio, because we had spent six months working on the demos.

Singles

The band's first single, "Fussy", was directed by Natasha Pincus, who also directed the award-winning video for Paul Kelly

Paul Kelly (musician)

Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...

's "God Told Me To

God Told Me To (song)

"God Told Me To" is the first single from Australian songwriter Paul Kelly's album Stolen Apples.The song deals with a fictional character called John Johanna, on trial for murder. To explain his actions, John defends himself by saying that God told him to do this...

". The video sees Burford as the demented killer and his bandmates as the cling-wrapped victims.
The single was released at the end of August 2008 and peaked at number 19 on the ARIA singles charts.

The second single, "Dying for You", was co-written by Burford with Julian Hamilton

Julian Hamilton

Julian Thomas Hamilton is a singer, song-writer and keyboardist, who, with bandmate Kim Moyes, makes up successful Sydney electronica duo, The Presets.-Biography:...

 of The Presets

The Presets

The Presets are an Australian electronic duo formed in 2003, consisting of Julian Hamilton on vocals and keyboards, and Kim Moyes on drums and keyboards. They released their debut album Beams in 2005 to positive critical response. Their 2008 release Apocalypso debuted at number-one on the ARIA...

.

Track listing

All songs written by Justin Burford, except where noted

1. "Biscit" - 2:41
2. "Kamikaze" - 4:01
3. "Down or Down" - 3:20
4. "American" - 3:05
5. "Force of Habit" - 4:20
6. "Dying for You" (Julian Hamilton
   Julian Hamilton
   Julian Thomas Hamilton is a singer, song-writer and keyboardist, who, with bandmate Kim Moyes, makes up successful Sydney electronica duo, The Presets.-Biography:...
   
   , Justin Burford) - 3:32
7. "Fussy" - 4:17
8. "Bullets" - 4:01
9. "Trust" - 3:25
10. "Exotica" - 3:48
11. "Burning in Neon" - 2:54
12. "Walk Away" - 5:35