Faking the Books

Faking the Books
Studio album by Lali Puna
Released	5 April 2004 (2004-04-05)
Recorded	June – November 2003
Studio	Uphon (Weilheim in Oberbayern) Hausmusik (Munich)
Genre	Indie electronic [1] electropop [2]
Length	38:30
Label	Morr
Producer	Mario Thaler
Lali Puna chronology
Scary World Theory (2001) Faking the Books (2004) Our Inventions (2010)
Singles from Faking the Books
"Left Handed" Released: 2 June 2003 [3] "Micronomic" Released: 13 July 2004 [4]

Faking the Books is the third studio album by German electronic music band Lali Puna. It was released on 5 April 2004 by Morr Music. ^[5]

Faking the Books peaked at number 23 on Billboard 's Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. ^[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100 [7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
Alternative Press	[9]
Pitchfork	7.5/10 [10]
Playlouder	[11]
Q	[12]
Spin	B+ [2]
Stylus	7/10 [13]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[14]
Uncut	[15]
URB	[16]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Faking the Books received an average score of 83 based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". ^[7]

Faking the Books was ranked at number five on Exclaim! 's "Electronic – Year in Review 2004" list. ^[1]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Valerie Trebeljahr, except where noted.

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Faking the Books" (lyrics by Trebeljahr and Markus Acher)	Acher	4:00
2.	"Call 1-800-Fear"	Trebeljahr Acher	3:24
3.	"Micronomic"	Trebeljahr	3:23
4.	"Small Things"	Trebeljahr	3:40
5.	"B-Movie"	Trebeljahr	3:13
6.	"People I Know"	Acher	3:05
7.	"Grin and Bear"	Trebeljahr Acher	4:41
8.	"Geography-5"	Trebeljahr	2:27
9.	"Left Handed"	Trebeljahr Acher Max Punktezahl	3:44
10.	"Alienation"	Trebeljahr Acher	4:01
11.	"Crawling by Numbers"	Trebeljahr	2:52
Total length:			38:30

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. ^[17]

Lali Puna

• Valerie Trebeljahr
• Markus Acher
• Christoph Brandner
• Christian Heiß

Additional musicians

• Sebastian Hess – cello on "Crawling by Numbers"
• Osamu Nambu – violin on "Alienation"
• Max Punktezahl – guitar on "Left Handed"

Production

• Chris Blair – mastering
• Mario Thaler – production, mixing, recording

Design

• Jan Kruse – cover artwork
• John-Patrick Morarescu – photography

Charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [18]	82
Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [19]	42
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums ( Billboard ) [6]	23

References

1. "Electronic – Year in Review 2004". Exclaim! . 30 November 2004. Archived from the original on 18 February 2005. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
2. Preissel, Jenn (16 April 2004). "Meeting People is Breezy". Spin . Retrieved 24 July 2019.
3. "Lali Puna: Left Handed". Morr Music . Retrieved 22 January 2021.
4. "Lali Puna: Micronomic". Morr Music . Retrieved 22 January 2021.
5. "Lali Puna: Faking The Books". Morr Music . Retrieved 22 January 2021.
6. "Lali Puna Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard . Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
7. "Faking The Books by Lali Puna Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved 27 February 2021.
8. Kellman, Andy. "Faking the Books – Lali Puna". AllMusic . Retrieved 25 February 2017.
9. "Lali Puna: Faking the Books". Alternative Press . No. 190. May 2004. p. 110.
10. Sylvester, Nick (25 April 2004). "Lali Puna: Faking the Books". Pitchfork . Retrieved 25 February 2017.
11. Ivens, Charlie (28 April 2004). "Faking The Books - Lali Puna". Playlouder . Archived from the original on 8 August 2004. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
12. "Lali Puna: Faking the Books". Q . No. 214. May 2004. p. 104.
13. Miller, Derek (16 June 2004). "Lali Puna – Faking the Books". Stylus Magazine . Archived from the original on 8 November 2004. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
14. Writer, Guest. "Lali Puna - Faking the Books". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved April 27, 2025.
15. "Lali Puna – Faking The Books". Uncut . No. 84. May 2004. p. 99. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
16. Their sound is an interesting polyglot, one as easily accessible to dance minimalists and brown corduroy-wearing emo boys, and with nary a compromise. [Apr 2004, p.86]
17. Faking the Books (liner notes). Lali Puna. Morr Music. 2004. 044 MM.
18. "Ultratop.be – Lali Puna – Faking the Books" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
19. "Alternatieve Albums" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. 8 May 2004. Retrieved 18 July 2021.

Further reading

• Anderson, Rick. "Micronomic – Lali Puna". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 August 2017.

External links

• Faking the Books at Discogs (list of releases)