Tommy Ashby’s Liar Liar: A Disarmingly Honest Confessional Wrapped in Indie Folk Gold

Tommy Ashby delivers one of his most compelling performances yet with Liar Liar, the standout single from his sophomore album Mantis.

The track showcases Ashby’s remarkable ability to transform uncomfortable truths into something unexpectedly joyful.

It’s a skill that has earned him support from BBC Radio 2, BBC Scotland, and KCRW, as well as Netflix sync placements.

What makes Liar Liar so striking is its counterintuitive approach to confession.

Rather than wallowing in guilt, Ashby celebrates the art of deception with an almost theatrical swagger.

The track explores the little lies people tell whilst maintaining an infectious energy that feels more like liberation than condemnation.

Ashby says of his new release: “I really liked the idea of writing a happy song about being a liar. Someone who was entirely joyful about their lying capability, like when you see a baddie in a film strutting off into the distance looking pleased with themselves.

Liar Liar is also about the little lies that everyone tells every day that I think make them a good person. Or things they keep to themselves. I didn’t want a song about lying to be to sad or morose, I wanted it to sound like a strange slightly wonky bop.”

Opening with intimate acoustic guitar work, the song gradually builds into Fleetwood Mac-inspired pop-rock territory, complete with vintage-tinged rhythms and layered harmonies.

Ashby’s voice has a way of hooking and not letting go – delivering lines like “I’m a liar, but the sorta kind where you can’t tell” with disarming vulnerability.

This conceptual framework elevates Liar Liar beyond a simple confession into something approaching therapeutic release.

Mantis is out now.

Tommy Ashby – Liar Liar Lyrics

This little secret of mine
I’m holding it close
Won’t give you a piece of my mind
Never telling a soul

I’m a liar
But the sorta kind where you can’t tell
I’m a liar
I know it’s wrong but I do it so well

You’re the key to my lock
The other side of the coin
Where we’re going there’s no way to stop
You’re my own beautiful ruin

I’m a liar
But the sorta kind where you can’t tell
I’m a liar
I know it’s wrong but I do it so well

I feel hollow
When I lie here in bed awake
Taste the pill but don’t swallow
Is it a secret trying to escape
Are you a secret trying to escape

I’m a liar
But the sorta kind where you can’t tell
I’m a liar
I know it’s wrong but I do it so well
I’m a liar
But the sorta kind where you can’t tell
I’m a liar
I know it’s wrong but I do it so well
I’m a liar
I’m a liar