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Artist: Gotye
Album: 'Boardface'
CD Review: Label: Independent
Tracks: 11
Released: 2003
For Fans Of: Moby, Sting, Delerium
Fav Tracks: Out There In The Cold, What Do You Want?, Waiting For You, Loath To Refuse

Gotye is Wally de Backer, hailing from atop a big hill in Merricks, Victoria, Australia. What he's doing there is composing some awesome music, which displays a maturity far beyond his 23 years. Wally himself plays drums, percussion, piano and uses his computer to sample most of the rest. Some support from a cast of talented friends can be heard in the form of vocals, guitar and sax on some of the tracks.

Overall, the sound is warm and vibrant. This could be a soundtrack to an old movie, complete with record 'pops and hisses'. The music is tasteful and displays a range of influences - from blues and jazz to rock, pop and house, but tending towards the softer, mellow side. The songs are mid-tempo and just sort of drift along from one to the next.
Vocals are handled by Wally himself most of the time. The exception is the beautiful female leads on tracks 2, 6, 9 and 10 - complements of Michaela Alexander and Christine Auriant. The beauty of their performance is that they blend in with Wally's vocals seamlessly. It sounds to me like Wally would if he were singing with their voices.

The lyrics flow from song to song, seeming to tell a love story of sorts. It is full of longing and a feeling of hope without wallowing.

The production cannot be left out - this is a beautiful recording to simply listen to. Its rich and warm and really surrounds you. Wally's skill at creating depth through layering and mixing all the parts is apparent.
And to be able to make music that sounds like it's from another time without a trace of it feeling 'old' is fantastic. This is great new music with a nod to the past.
Fans of Moby & Delerium especially won't be disappointed.

Contact: Wally
Website: Gotye