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Making Mirrors is the third studio album by Belgian-Australian recording artist Gotye. The album was released in Australia on 19 August 2011.

Data

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In mid-October 2010, Gotye released a single titled "Eyes Wide Open", the first track from the album. However, controversy erupted on 5 July 2011, when the video for the new single, "Somebody That I Used to Know", was leaked online via the Austereo Radio Network's Take 40 website. Later that day, the song was aired for the first time on Triple J with the official stamp of approval from Gotye. Gotye release the single six days early, on 5 July 2011, through iTunes Australia, and his website for international followers.

Gotye also revealed that the album would see a release in June or July 2011, with a single to precede the release,[1] along with the fact that the album would be similar to its predecessor in terms of diversity.[1] Gotye went on to reveal that the release of the album was delayed for over five months due to the composition and recording of a single track.[2]

It spawned the internationally critically acclaimed hit "Somebody That I Used to Know" which has impacted charts worldwide. In Poland, after one day of release, the album was certified platinum.[3]

On 19 May 2011, it was announced that the album would be released on 19 August 2011, with the album to be launched the following day at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Graphic Festival, with animators and a ten-piece orchestra as part of Gotye's performance.[4] Gotye was also to issue a follow-up single to "Eyes Wide Open" titled "Somebody That I Used to Know", on 11 July 2011.[4] Upon the announcement of the track listing, Gotye also revealed that there would be a DVD accompanying the record which would include music videos and documentaries.[5]

The album was certified two times platinum by the ARIA Albums Chart, making it the most successful Australian album of 2011. Since then, the album has been certified three times platinum, selling in excess of 210,000 copies in Australia.

Background

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Recording

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The album was largely recorded at a converted studio at Gotye's parents' farm in Mornington Peninsula.[6]

Musical style

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"Eyes Wide Open" saw Gotye explore new musical territory, with the main bass line from the song recorded on a fence: "I was out there with my old band called The Basics—and Winton is home to this phenomenal thing called the Winton Musical Fence, which is a large fence made out of metal strings stretched between posts and you can pluck it and play it with all sorts of different materials - it makes these amazing bass sounds so I sampled some bits there in 08 and they made it into the first single I put out off the new record called Eyes Wide Open."

—Gotye.[7]

Lyrics and themes

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Caption soon.

Gotye revealed that the second single from the album, "Somebody That I Used to Know", was not lyrically the result of a single break-up. "It wasn't about one specific relationship," the singer explained in an interview, "but it was definitely drawn from various experiences I've had in relationships breaking up, and in the parts of the more reflective parts of the song, in the after-math and the memory of those different relationships and what they were and how they broke up and what's going on in everyone's minds. Yeah, so it's an amalgam of different feelings but not completely made up as such."[7]

Despite the album's huge success, Gotye revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone Australia that he initially battled with indecision and depression while making the album, which in turn became the subject matter of songs like "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Save Me". He stated: "There were points that I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish a record I was really into or that I’d give up at some stage."[8]

Artwork and title

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In March 2010, Gotye revealed the album's title, which was inspired by an artwork he chanced upon which was edited to create the album cover art. He claimed, "The mirror reflects on artwork and it is all very related to self-reflection and introspection on the album."[1] Shortly before Making Mirrors was released, Gotye spoke to ABC about the significance of the artwork, the title, and how it symbolises the creative and introspective process of recording the album; "It's more about reflection - the look at yourself that a mirror offers and also the way it gives you a different perspective on things around you. So I guess I feel a bit analogous to what these songs become to me—you know little ways for me to explore my record collection, explore the world of sound that I'm fascinated by, and also sometimes get a different perspective on memories and emotions I've been mulling over that they find voice in these songs."[7]

Release and promotion

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Singles

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"Eyes Wide Open" was released as the first single of Making Mirrors on 5 November 2010, almost a yer prior to the release of the album. The song received moderate commercial success, peaking at No. 55 on the Australian Singles Chart and No.33 on the Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) and reached No.25 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010.[1]. On 2012, and due to the success of its successor, "Eyes Wide Open" charted at No.96 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached No.35 on the Alternative Songs chart.

"Somebody That I Used to Know", a duet he recorded with singer Kimbra, was released as the second single in Australia and New Zealand on July 2011. The song proved very successful, topping both countries singles charts for several weeks, and receiving multiple Platinum certifications. From November 2011 through January 2012, the song was released as the lead single worldwide. It has since become a worldwide success around the globe, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks and the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, as well as other 23 national charts. With 7 million copies sold, it stands as the biggest selling single of 2012 so far and is one of the best-selling digital singles of all time.[9] "I Feel Better" was released as the third single off the album in Australia on 25 October 2011. It has since only charted on Belgium (Flanders) at No.13. "Easy Way Out" was released in the UK as a promotional single on 3 November 2011. It was eventually released as the fourth single from Making Mirrors in Australia on 27 February 2012.

Tour

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Reception

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Commercial performance

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Critical response

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [10]
The Boston Globe(favorable)[11]
The Independent     [12]
MusicOMH     [13]
The New York Times(favorable)[14]
NME(5/10)[15]
Pitchfork(7.7/10)[16]
PopMatters(6/10)[17]
Rolling Stone     [18]
The Herald Sun    [19]
The Music Network(favorable)[20]
Radar Music     [21]

Marking Mirrors received critical acclaim from most music critics.

Jon O'Brien from Allmusic awarded the album three and a half stars out of five and commented that the album "reveals a love of the '80s pop scene, which extends far beyond the usual influences of the current nu-synth brigade."[10] He further stated that Gotye proves, along with Art vs. Science and Architecture in Helsinki, that Australia "is fast becoming one of the biggest purveyors of quality experimental pop."[10]

Michael Brodeur from The Boston Globe gave a favorable review of the album, stating that "the charms of the album make it more than a knockoff of more established pop brands", closing his review agreeing that Making Mirrors "bounces their reflections into fresh focus."[11]

Andy Gill from The Independent graded the album three stars out of five and selected "Somebody That I Used to Know", "Eyes Wide Open", "I Feel Better" and "In Your Light" as the highlights of the album, stating that Gotye's music has "the dense, occasionally cluttered manner of the obsessive bedroom producer."[12]

Paul Bonadio from MusicOMH gave a very positive review of Making Mirrors, awarding the album a score of four-and-a-half stars out of five and agreeeing that "is already considered a modern classic in his adopted homeland of Australia."[13] He stated that it contains "lucid creativity" in abundance, and that i "never feels forced or overly complicated."[13]

Accolades

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In December 2011 it was announced that Making Mirrors was voted Triple J listeners' number-one album of 2011, making Gotye the first artist to win the Triple J album poll twice.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Wally De Backer

No.TitleLength
1."Making Mirrors"1:01
2."Easy Way Out"1:57
3."Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbra)4:04
4."Eyes Wide Open"3:11
5."Smoke and Mirrors"5:13
6."I Feel Better"3:18
7."In Your Light"4:39
8."State of the Art"5:22
9."Don't Worry, We'll Be Watching You"3:18
10."Giving Me a Chance"3:07
11."Save Me"3:53
12."Bronte"3:18
iTunes bonus track[22]
No.TitleLength
13."Dig Your Own Hole"4:23
iTunes pre-order bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Somebody That I Used to Know" (Faux Pas Remix)3:59
CD/DVD pre-order bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Showdown Below My Sombrero"2:30
Limited edition bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
1."The Making of Eyes Wide Open" (documentary)8:01
2."Making Making Mirrors" (documentary)10:03
3."Eyes Wide Open" (music video)3:18
4."Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbra) (music video)4:03
5."State of the Art" (music video)5:18
6."Bronte" (music video)3:14

Chart performance

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Gotye's Mirrored Vision". Bendigo Advertiser. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  2. ^ http://gotye.com/news.html
  3. ^ "Gotye pokrył się w Polsce platyną w jeden dzień!". Polskie Radio. polskieradio.pl. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Gotye Debuts New Album At The Opera House - Undercover.fm News". Undercover.fm. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  5. ^ http://gotye.com/
  6. ^ Smirke, Richard (13 April 2012). "Gotye's Smash Hit Almost Didn't Happen". Billboard. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Shorthouse, Janel (2011-07-28). "Gotye @ Splendour in the Grass - ABC Sunshine & Cooloola Coasts Qld - Australian Broadcasting Corporation". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  8. ^ Treuen, Jason. "Rolling Stone: Gotye's Mad World". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Gotye breaks 1 million UK single sales". Music-news. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
  10. ^ a b c Making Mirrors - Gotye | Allmusic
  11. ^ a b "Gotye, 'Making Mirrors' - Boston.com". Articles.boston.com. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  12. ^ a b Andy Gill (10 February 2012). "Album: Gotye, Making Mirrors (Island) - Reviews - Music". The Independent. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  13. ^ a b c "Gotye - Making Mirrors | album reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  14. ^ Pareles, Jon. "A One-Man Studio Band and the Strength of Smooth Jazz". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  15. ^ "NME Album Reviews - Gotye - 'Making Mirrors'". Nme.Com. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  16. ^ "Gotye: Making Mirrors | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 9 September 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  17. ^ Amidon, David. "Gotye: Making Mirrors < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  18. ^ By Jody Rosen (14 February 2012). "Making Mirrors | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  19. ^ 18 August 2011 12:00AM (18 August 2011). "Album review: Making Mirrors by Gotye (Eleven/Universal)". Herald Sun. Retrieved 10 February 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Welsh, Caitlin (19 August 2011). "Album review: Gotye, Making Mirrors". The Music Network (Peer Group Media). Retrieved on 2 June 2012.
  21. ^ "Gotye Making Mirrors Review | Radar Artists. Band info, interviews, reviews & artist music upload". Radar Radio. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  22. ^ Bonus download from bandtag.com.au as part of the limited edition CD.
  23. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  24. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Gotye – Making Mirrors" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Gotye – Making Mirrors" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Gotye – Making Mirrors" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  27. ^ "Gotye Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  28. ^ "Top Stranih [Top Foreign]" (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  29. ^ "TOP50 Prodejní – Gotye – Making Mirrors" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  30. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  31. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Gotye – Making Mirrors" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  32. ^ "Lescharts.com – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  33. ^ "Officialcharts.de – Gotye – Making Mirrors". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  34. ^ "Top-75 Albums Sales Chart" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  35. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 8, 2012". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  36. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  37. ^ "Gotye – Making Mirrors". Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  38. ^ "Charts.nz – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  39. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  40. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  41. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  42. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  43. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  44. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  45. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  46. ^ "Gotye Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  47. ^ "Gotye Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  48. ^ "Gotye Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  49. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  50. ^ "Austrian album certifications – Gotye – Making Mirrors" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  51. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2011". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  52. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Gotye – Making Mirrors". Music Canada.
  53. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Gotye; 'Making Mirrors')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  54. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2012 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  55. ^ "British album certifications – Gotye – Making Mirrors". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Making Mirrors in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  56. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2011". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  57. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2011" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  58. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2011" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
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