It has become only too apparent to me, that lately my motivation to make sandwiches has been dwindling. Don’t get me wrong though. I’m hungry. It’s just…. everything takes like chicken. Even when its monkey.

What I’ve been craving is a triple-decker vegemite sandwich with all the extras, served on a toothpick with a cocktail onion… then on 21st May, I opened my Chuck Norris lunch box to find it.

“Like Drawing Blood” is the second record by little known Victorian, gotye. Gotye is 26 year old Wally De Backer, and he epitomises everything I love about music. The recording and production of this album was a gargantuan effort, all completed on his home computer over the space of two and a half years. He played drums, piano, sang and cut’n’pasted samples, to create a completely independent masterpiece.

It’s a hard task to put a finger on his sound, it is eclectic yet distinctive. Not dissimilar to my taste in beer & women (preferably tall and blonde, but served at a variety of temperatures..) The percussive elements of this album are top notch. A fusion of jazzy high-hats and drum machine that defies convention. It encompasses an assortment of tempos and forms, weaving in and out of electronic and organic samples.

For an example, listen to the loungey electro pop that is “Thanks For Your Time

Now follow it with the Mo Town stylings of “Learnalilgivinanlovin

Then there’s my personal fave. A gorgeous meandering serenade that will give you chills, called “Hearts a Mess”. (will put this up tomorrow. make sure you come back and get it)

Its obvious from the first listen, just how much soul and effort have gone into this LP. It is an even more commendable effort, knowing Wally also had to endure a critical hard-disk crash halfway through the recording process.

If there is one independent Australian album you should buy in 2006, this is it.
Nab it here

“Thanks for your time…”

Labels: Gotye, Regional