Gotye - Eyes Wide Open

Every year, there’s always a smattering of tracks that seem to utterly take over the radio – both through virtue of being played a hell of a lot, and simply sounding like a ‘radio’ track; something which merges into the consciousness of the surroundings. This year, Gotye’s 8x platinum (in Australia) Somebody That I Used To Know is one of those tracks.

Now firmly nestled in the public mind, Gotye turns to the track that warmed native audiences to him as his follow-up over here. Eyes Wide Open largely marks a big departure from his mega-hit; for starters, it’s placed far more firmly within the up-beat ouvre of standard indie-pop tropes. Like a shimmery middle-ground between Snow Patrol at their more pensive and Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition, it once again nails that hazy radio-track substance, drawing it in, gorging itself on its essence. The result? A track that, while lacking the neat prettiness of Somebody That I Used To Know, shows that Gotye is more than just a one hit wonder.