Intriguer

After Time on Earth, Finn announced that the band would return to the studio with the same line-up: Finn on vocals, guitars and piano, Seymour on bass, Mark Hart on guitars and keyboards, and Matt Sherrod on drums. A small concert at The Leigh Sawmill, north of Auckland, in February 2008 included songs that were later recorded. In 2009 they made demos of eleven songs, some written on the previous tour, with Jim Scott as producer for the first time. He then produced the whole album at Finn's Roundhead Studios in Auckland. Guests included Don McGlashan, Lisa Germano on violin, Jon Brion on guitar and vocals, Greg Leisz on pedal steel, and Sharon and Liam Finn. The first single, Saturday Sun, appeared in April 2010.

On Metacritic the album scored 75 from 13 critics. The Times gave it five stars. Uncut gave three, saying it suffers slightly from the band's signature weakness, a tendency to retreat into tastefulness. Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+, and Mojo, AllMusic and musicOMH gave four stars. The deluxe edition added a DVD, Upstairs at Home.