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''Like Drawing Blood'' is the second studio
album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter
Gotye Wouter André De Backer (; born 21 May 1980), known professionally as Gotye ( , , ), is a Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbr ...
, released in Australia on 21 May 2006. All the sounds on the album were collected and assembled or performed by Wally De Backer in bedrooms around Melbourne between 2003 and 2005, and the record was mixed and mastered by François Tétaz ('' Wolf Creek'' soundtrack, Machine Translations, Architecture in Helsinki). It was featured heavily by
Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
in May 2006. At the J Award of 2006, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year. Two songs from ''Like Drawing Blood'' rated in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2006: "Hearts a Mess" at number 8, and "Learnalilgivinanlovin" at number 94. ''Like Drawing Blood'' also received the number one spot on the 2006 Triple J Album Poll for best album of the year, as voted by Triple J listeners. The album was also released in Belgium, on 30 May 2008, with three alterations: it contains a new version of "Learnalilgivinanlovin" with higher-pitched vocals in the chorus; the track "Coming Back" removes a sample in the intro and bridge, and the song "A Distinctive Sound" is replaced by a new version of "The Only Thing I Know" (the original appeared on Gotye's debut album '' Boardface''). Also, three singles were released in Belgium: "Learnalilgivinanlovin", "Hearts a Mess", and "Coming Back". ''Like Drawing Blood'' has also received the number 11 spot on the 2011 Triple J Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time, as voted by the Triple J listeners. In 2012 it was awarded a double silver certification from the
Independent Music Companies Association The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...
, which indicated sales of at least 40,000 copies throughout Europe. The title of the album ''Like Drawing Blood'' refers to the difficulty Gotye endured to create it. When asked about the title in a 2008 interview with FaceCulture, Gotye replied: "yeah, it's a little bit Gothic, obviously, than is appropriate for the music that's on the album, it was just— it was a hard album to write for me because almost— heaps of times, at least every month, in the maybe two years that I spent writing the record, I was ready to just kind of go, 'what am I doing, this is no good', or 'it's too hard', or 'I'm never going to, you know, make— finish an album', so it was quite a challenging thing to continue to go, this is worth keeping to doing— you know, keeping going with this; um, so in a way it was kinda like it took so much out of me for two years, kind of off and on, trying to finish the record; it felt a little bit like, yeah, it was kind of like taking the very kind of life energy from me, like drawing blood, um, to put into making this record, um, and it also has a title that went hand-in-hand with the album cover, which has, kind of, what looks like, kind of splatters of blood on a canvas, um, just a painting I did when I was young". In a 2012 interview with FaceCulture, Gotye stated that it "was obviously named after the suggestion that it was a difficult experience, that it was like, you know, taking a part of myself, a lifeblood", explaining that he "didn't really get a lot of time to work on ''Like Drawing Blood''" due to spending time at various jobs trying to make ends meet.


Track listing

Australian release (2006) International release (2008) Japanese edition bonus track


Reception

The album was well-received by critics. Andrew Drever of ''The Age'' said of the album that "De Backer bravely tackles a mind-boggling array of musical styles with conviction and flair...That he never once missteps, pulling off every musical style he attempts with aplomb and skill, highlights the arrival of an important new talent." Pitchfork described the album as "full of dark pop, produced with an open clarity that separates the numerous sounds and consequently comes off as huge and sweeping...''Like Drawing Blood'' is memorable and captivating." PopMatters gave the album a favourable review, stating that "''Like Drawing Blood'' plays as a remarkably consistent, high quality electronic mix album, with thoughtful song/song transitions and a sustained, easily established mood."
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
editor Jon O'Brien called the album "an impressively eclectic cut-and-paste affair" and stated, "A little more control in the editing suite might have helped, then, but ''Like Drawing Blood'' is still an engaging and diverse affair".


Appearances in media

* "Hearts a Mess" was featured in the 6th episode of the Seven Network's TV Show ''
Packed to the Rafters ''Packed to the Rafters'' is an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The dr ...
''. * "Hearts a Mess" was featured in the 23rd episode entitled "The Wrath of Con" of the second season of the CW TV show ''
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
''. * "Learnalilgivinanlovin'" appears in the end credits of the 2010 film '' Going the Distance''. * "Hearts a Mess" appeared in the soundtrack 2013 film ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
''.


Credits

* Wally De Backer – lead and backing vocals, writing, production, performance, artwork * Jacob Uljans – vocal recording on "Thanks for Your Time" * Lucas Taranto – bass guitar on "Coming Back" * Francois Tetaz – mixing, mastering, additional production * Tim Shiel – album layout


Chart performance


Certifications


References

{{Authority control 2006 albums Albums recorded in a home studio Gotye albums Creative Vibes albums