OK, I'll be the first to admit I am way late to this album. I dismissed it when it came out in the States back in January, unimpressed by the samples of it I listened to. I'll let "Making Mirrors" serve as a reminder to me that 30 second samples don't always tell the whole story of an album.
It took Gotye's recent appearance on Saturday Night Live to intrigue me enough to re-visit "Making Mirrors" and it wasn't even so much the performance of the unavoidable "Someone That I Used To Know". Yes I like that track, it's hard not to, but the second performance of "Eyes Wide Open" is what really sold me. The guy can sing, he's even pounding out some percussion up there and he obviously can write quality pop music that doesn't sound churned out of a radio hit making factory. This is the song that got me excited to check out the entire album again.
Upon further listening, "Making Mirrors" reveals a talented singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist not afraid to push pop boundaries to inject some originality and thought into the genre. There's the pure Motown Sound of "I Feel Better", the dub and reggae influenced "Don't Worry, We'll Be Watching You" and the soothing ambiance of "Giving Me A Chance". But the song that truly sold me on this album is "State Of The Art", with its mix of electronics, hip-hop and reggae all topped off with Gotye electronically manipulating his voice so it is slowed down to the point of being unrecognizable. It's the perfect combination of not taking yourself too seriously while creating a seriously brilliant track.
"Making Mirrors" is actually Gotye's third full length album, but the first released in the U.S. Born in Belgium, but raised in Australia, he's quickly becoming a household name here and I'm officially on the bandwagon.
"Making Mirrors" was released in the U.S. January 31, 2012 on Universal Republic.
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