Moby - Last Night

He may be a Britney loving, vegan, environmentalist, religious geek but Moby AKA Richard Melville Hall has a mind that was made for music production. Love him or hate him, you have to appreciate the skill that literally oozes out of every pore. One only has to look at his pop breakthrough album Play. No less than 8 singles were released from the album, and for the first time in history all 18 tracks on the album were licensed for commercial use. That’s all well and good you may say, but what has he done since? Granted the follow up to his pop juggernaut 18 didn’t achieve as much commercial success, nor did the subsequent Hotel. But he is back, and he brought the beats to back him up. In Last Night, Moby returns to the pop formula that launched him to success: big vocal tracks, rich sweeps and catchy beats are the order of the day. A self confessed night owl, the album is his way of “trying to take 25 years of going out in NYC and condensing it into a 65 minute record”.

Opening up with a heavy synth underlay on Ooh Yeah the track quickly turns into a happy go lucky affair, simple pop bliss that is incredibly effective at setting a good mood for the album to come. Before too long we are headfirst into the beats with old school hip-house number I Love To Move In Here, mixing sugar sweet vocals from Chrissi Poland with some tasty MCing from Grandmaster Caz. Keeping in the old school house vein is Everyday It’s 1989, big happy piano lines and thumping beats hark back to the days of old. Great stuff. It’s not all upbeat club music on here though, the layered, haunting vocals and rich sweeps of Live For Tomorrow more keeping in line with classic Moby form.

The first single to be lifted from the album, Alice, was an unlikely decision. Featuring the Nigerian 419 Squad the track features a heavy bass line punctuated by sharp bursts of MCing. The second single is a more likely candidate for an individual release; Disco Lies features the powerful vocals of Shayna Steele backed by a pop-friendly backing. Would be great to see this track given a bit more edge in future remixes. Moby closes out the night with a couple of ambient electronica numbers in Sweet Apocalypse and Mothers Of The Night. It is perhaps though the title track that holds your attention, Last Night features the lingering vocal work of Sylvia Gordon. A warm, melancholy vibe washes out of the speakers evoking visions of Lamb and the like.

There is no doubt that Moby is back to his form of albums past, and as such there is a multitude of hits just waiting to take the world by storm. Whether through traditional sales or though licensing, there is no doubt that Moby will come up smiling.

Perfect for: the night.