Infinite Shuffle

With a recent surge in popularity following the success of the hit single “Somebody That I Used To Know”, the artist known as Gotye has seemingly come out of nowhere as an overnight sensation in the indie music scene.

But, in actuality, Gotye, aka Wouter “Wally” De Backer, has been around for more than a decade. The Belgian-born, Australian-bred De Backer has released four albums and several EPS with his band The Basics and another three full-length albums under the Gotye moniker.

By the way, according to Wikipedia, the name “Gotye” is derived from “Gaultier” (or “Gautier” or “Gauthier”), the French equivalent of “Wouter” (“Walter” in English).

De Backer has been nominated for a slew of awards in Australia for both his solo and collaborative work, and, as Gotye, he has won five Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards — the Down Under version of the Grammys.

He had released two Gotye albums — 2003’s Boardface and 2006’s Like Drawing Blood — but didn’t start receiving international acclaim until the 2011 release of Making Mirrors.

Besides the above two tracks, the album includes an eclectic mix of pop, rock, soul and electro sounds with varying vocals that trace their roots to such forebears as Sting and Peter Gabriel. The disc as a whole is something of an acquired taste, with several throwaway tracks mixed among the better stuff.

Some of the stronger tunes include “Save Me” (electro-pop that calls to mind Owl City), “Giving Me a Chance”, “Bronte”, “In Your Light” (a very poppy tune that’s reminiscent of Steve Winwood) and “I Feel Better” (a very soulful pop song that might conjure images of Cee-Lo Green or Bruno Mars).

He’ll be touring the United States starting in March; unfortunately, many of the shows are already sold out. Check out more songs on his MySpace page.