Album: Gotye, Making Mirrors (Island)

Belgian/Australian singer Gotye's music has the dense, occasionally cluttered
manner of the obsessive bedroom producer – or in his case, the barn-based
musical obsessive, the album having been put together in an isolated
outbuilding.

He's fascinated by sound, which is good – the kooky xylophone of the hit "Somebody That I Used to Know", the subtle slide guitar and keyboard combination of "Eyes Wide Open", obscurities like the Chromaharp and the aboriginal Winton Musical Fence. But he can go too far, as when recounting the capabilities of his Lowrey Cotillion organ on "State of the Art": sorry mate, just not interested. But when he applies himself with discipline, as on the Motown-style stomper "I Feel Better", and the uplifting "In Your Light", the results show off the smoky white-soul tinge of his vocals beautifully.

DOWNLOAD THIS Somebody That I Used To Know; Eyes Wide Open; I Feel Better; In Your Light