Random 30 2013: Gotye - Hearts A Mess

Okay, so this one is six years old. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some 2013 relevance to everythingsgonegreen; a) it was one of the highlights of this year’s The Great Gatsby soundtrack, and b) it got played often after I belatedly discovered it mid-year.

Gotye is of course the artist behind ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, one of 2011 and 2012’s most durable hits. ‘Hearts A Mess’ is quite different from that particular earworm in that it exposes a softer underbelly to Gotye’s music. There’s crazy offbeat percussion, subtle strings, and the clever use of what sounds like a vintage keyboard (a mellotron perhaps?) … all combining to supplement a set of lyrics so tragic, it’s almost enough to bring a tear to a glass eye … (if that’s your bag).

“Let me in/where only your thoughts have been/let me occupy your mind/as you do mine/your heart's a mess/you won't admit to it/it makes no sense/but I'm desperate to connect/and you, you can't live like this”

 

… *wipes tear*