Gotye - Making Mirrors

Moniker of Wally De Backer, Gotye hasn’t gained household status in the UK as of yet but it’s clear that he’s had an extremely successful career so far in his homeland of Australia, where ‘Making Mirrors’ has already been released. It’s become more common for artists to stage a waiting period before bringing their music to Britain with American-based bands Peaking Lights and Givers recently amongst many to test the waters before launching themselves over here.

Wally De Backer has been making music under the alias of Gotye since 2003 but it’s only on his third studio album that mass attention has been surrounding him and it’s not hard to see why. As ‘Making Mirrors’ builds, Backer transforms from hushed vocals on the self-titled intro to letting go completely with powerful vocals that are on the fence between singing and shouting by third song, ‘Eyes Wide Open’, where he bursts into elated joy. This is an unconventional album that is strangely cohesive for an album that encompasses so many genres and sounds, ranging from smoky blues to 60s soul elements.

A reggae beat complimented by with vocoded vocals is one of the strangest combinations on ‘Making Mirrors’ that is in keeping with its title, ‘State Of The Art’. Genre boundaries have become blurred in recent times with new sub genres being constantly created and Gotye’s music is hard to categorise, bringing up what Robert Stam, University professor and author, has said about genre; ‘Are genres timeless platonic essences or ephemeral, time-bound entities?’.

‘Making Mirrors’ sounds like the work of a full band and not that of what is essentially, a one man band. Coming from someone who writes and produces his own music, this is an accomplishment from one of Australia’s much loved musicians. This is a varied album that combines old and new musical styles without the fear of pastiche.