Gotye
Like Drawing Blood

THE REVIEW

Gotye, this strange character. Raise your hand if you didn't get to know him through his super-mega-ultra hit (which I won't even name) that was playing on every blessed audio/video music channel. If you raised your hand, kudos to you. You already know where I'm going with this. So, you find yourself hearing the aforementioned hit for the umpteenth time, but you feel there's something more, you need to dig deeper. You listen to the entire album. You realize you were right. The next step after listening to "Making Mirrors" is, paradoxically, a step back. It so happens that the guy has two albums behind his back, full of dust that needs to be blown away with a good puff. The doors of "Like Drawing Blood" open up for you.

You wouldn’t be able to categorize this album even if you tried. The term (tailor-made) "laptop music" doesn't even remotely convey the idea. It's simply about uncovering the artist's skull, taking some blood, and spreading it on a canvas (the cover is evocative in this sense). So, what is Gotye? It’s groove, it’s playfulness, it’s lightheartedness, it’s being constantly and pleasantly bewildered. It’s pure experimentation, with a warm heart beating wildly. The rhythm is the backbone of the album, drums and percussion are omnipresent. After all, we are faced with a first-rate drummer, equipped with a pad that allows him to play at will with any percussive pattern. I believe I've conveyed the idea quite well. If we add an endless collection of old vinyls seasoned with special attention to sampling and "vintage" music, the scenario is well outlined. No piece is like the other. An art gallery where there is no continuity, each room is painted differently, has a different shape, and inside there's a piece that has absolutely nothing to do with the others. Jazzy urgency ("Puzzle With a Missing Piece"), sweet ballads ("Hearts a Mess"), vocal roller coasters ("Thanks For Your Time"), "oriental" atmospheres ("The Only Way"), more standard pop/rock forms but always reworked in a very personal way ("Learnalilgivinanlovin", "The Only Thing I Know"). And you even seem to hear screams and shouts of strange animals coming from the back seats of your car ("Seven Hours With a Backseat Driver").

It’s a demanding journey. Along the way, you will find a landscape with a thousand facets, winding curves (or perhaps I should say sinuous), a lot of inspiration. Fully capturing every single aspect, every single detail will be a long, yet at the same time very sweet activity. And a single journey won't be enough. But in the end, as you drive back home ("Night Drive"), you'll realize it was beautiful, interesting, stimulating. That you saw places you'd never seen (strange but beautiful), that you had fun. Captivated by a journey where you can't get bored. Always on the move, standing still is impossible. Physically and mentally. You come home, dead tired, you lay on the bed. But you know you'll do it again. So much has stayed with you. The most noticeable thing is a mark, right there, inside your head. It’s blood, mixed blood: a little Belgian, a little Australian...