Greetings,
Remember a while back when I made a list of my Dream Songwriting Partners? Well, today, we are going to discuss someone who ranked very high on that prestigious list. That would be Gotye, and his album Making Mirrors.
It almost seemed crazy to me to review an album that I was pretty sure a ton of people already had. Then, I started seeing Gotye pop up on some One Hit Wonder lists. First, no. Second, I hate the term 'One Hit Wonder', mostly because it tends to imply that these artists literally only did one good thing. That may be the case with some of them. And with some of them, I'd barely call their one supposedly good thing...good. But if anyone deserves to not be put into that category, it would be Gotye. Like I said, I'm sure a lot of people own this album, based on the success of the most known song from it, but I bet some people also just got that one song, sadly. So, I'm gonna tell you guys about the rest of this fine collection of music.
Making Mirrors is the third album release from Gotye, but it was the first to have any major success. That was brought on by the runaway hit song, "Somebody That I Used to Know", which featured a singer named Kimbra. It actually ended up being the biggest song of the year, though it was actually the second single from this album. More on that in a moment. It's the one that everyone knows best, so let's talk about it first. Admittedly, I, like most everyone else, heard of Gotye because of this song. It actually took me a couple of listens before I really was able to appreciate how good it is. And it is, very good. Also, different, something quite welcome in this world of 'same old, same old' music. It is a perfect representation for what else we get on the album.
The single that came out before "Somebody That I Used to Know" was called "Eyes Wide Open". It is easily one of the best tracks. The lyrics are visually stimulating, and the music is, again, extremely unique. This is, no doubt, due to some very interesting ways that Gotye makes said music. In the case of this song, he visited something in Australia called the Winton Musical Fence. It is exactly what it sounds like. Just a fence, sitting out there, that you can make music on from all the wires and percussion-y things on it. In a documentary I saw on You Tube, Gotye showed how he went there to get samples and then incorporated them into this song. It gives it such a full sound that is almost industrial, but hearing him play a bit of it on the piano makes it no less moving.
Another stand out song is "Easy Way Out". It seems simpler, in a way, if only because it feels almost like it has the sound of a garage band. A real one. And it is very short, cutting off suddenly as if to say, "Well, there's your easy way out". Very subtly clever. There's also a song called "I Feel Better". Now, whilst I would never call Gotye unoriginal, this track pretty much shouts out, "Hey, guess who I really like? Stevie Wonder!" Yes, it sounds very much inspired by that particular legendary musician. I never mind a songwriter being heavily inspired by another artist. I am myself. In fact, since Gotye is so creative with his work, I let it go even more in this case.
Another good song is "Smoke and Mirrors". It speaks about something called "the impostor syndrome", wherein a person cannot accept any success they have due to believing that they are a fraud. I don't know if he was talking about himself here, but, in the song "Save Me", it is clear that he is speaking about his own bouts with depression. It's something I admire about the music of Gotye, the openness of the things about which he writes. And he can bring you to tears with this, even going so far as to close out the album with a song called "Bronte", which is apparently about the passing of a friend's dog. Seriously, any way you can make people feel, I say go for it.
Now let's talk about my personal favorite song on Making Mirrors, "State of the Art". If you've ever read my album reviews before, you may have noticed that I tend to pick a heartwarming or heartbreaking love song as my favorite. It's just how I am. Well, this is not one of those. I know I've said a lot here about Gotye being very unique, but this one goes far beyond just being unique. I don't really think I've ever heard another song like it. Let's start with what it's about. It's about a 1970's Lowery Cotillion. What's that? Well, it's this old school, organ type thing with a bunch of different sound effects and whatnot. Old timey synthesizer, if you will. It was something his parents bought him, and he had loads of fun just playing around on it, so he wrote a song about how amazing it is. No kidding. That's what the song is about. But what makes this one especially great for me is the music. It's a bit out there, but that is why I love it. This whole thing, lyrics, music, and the fact that Gotye distorts his voice, makes it all seem other-wordly, which I think was the goal. It's just so, for lack of a better word, neat. I do love things like this that make you think, "Okay, where did that come from?" Of course, it is also songs like this that can be polarizing. And I've heard a couple of critics say that they didn't like this song or they didn't get it. Fine. I can see how some people may feel that way, but I don't. Still, speaking of critics...
Okay, for the most part, this album got very positive reviews, well-deserved, and it certainly sold a lot. Of course, there will always be critics and reviewers who won't like something. One of the complaints I've heard from them was that the album is very sample heavy. Alright, I agree. Gotye does use a lot of sampling in his music. Now when any of us think of sampling, we think about it in the way it's been used or overused in the past couple of decades. By that, I mean that a lot of artists will use an old and loved song to somehow almost trick the public into liking their new and untested song. I suppose I can't argue with the fact that it has worked. Well, commercially speaking. The difference here is that Gotye uses very, very obscure music when he samples. I mean, I wouldn't have even known about it had he not said anything. So you know he's not doing it in the way that others have often done. He uses them as building blocks for his own vision. Nothing wrong with that as far as I am concerned.
So, in conclusion, go buy this album. Yes, it is that good. If you liked "Somebody That I Used To Know", you'll probably like all the rest of his work here just as much or better. And while you're at it, check out Gotye's You Tube channel. It's where you can find those documentaries of which I spoke. It truly is amazing to watch a man like that create, and it was one of the reasons why I put him on that Dream Songwriting Partners list of mine. Isn't he just so lucky?
Love ad full moons,
Becky the Writer
