Moby's Last Night (GenQ Music)

Moby's Last Night

Published May 24, 2008

Moby's 9th studio album, Last Night is, as he explains on his website, ""a lot more dance-oriented and electronic than my last few albums, probably as a result of all of the DJ'ing I've been doing lately." And true to his word, this album does feel a lot more dance-electronica focussed.

Recorded in Moby's home studio in Manhattan, New York, the album features guest vocal appearances by the Nigerian 419 Squad, Wendy Starland and MC Grandmaster Kaz, to name a few.

Moby also described Last Night as "basically a love letter to dance music in New York City. What I love about the New York approach to dance music is the eclecticism and the open minded-ness on the part of the musicians, the DJ's, and the people in the bars and clubs. In making Last Night, I essentially tried to take a long 8 hour night out in New York City and condense it into a 65 minute long album."

The first single to be released off the album, "Alice" has a strong base and 'gangsta' feel intro that kicks into what closely resembles Moby from Play days, and then back into a rap-revved verse, intertwined with Moby's vocal interludes.

Second single from the album, "Disco Lies" is one of my favourite songs off the album. With a great dance/disco vibe with strong female vocals and a signature Moby 'woooooo' in the background, the catchy, angsty chorus is an added bonus!

Track 11, "Degenerates" is a pure, classic Moby instrumental that gives off a feeling of being emersed in water, with the sun shining in, all sounds muffled and a sense of exploration and opportunity (might also have something to do with the fact that it sometimes sounds like an oxygen tank divers use!). As the music sways like a wave into a strings dominated ending, one might imagine finally coming up for water, coming ashore and relaxing on the hot sand of a deserted island.

From one instrumental to another, "Sweet Apocalypse" is more energised with trance-like undertones, however manages to remain calm on the surface. And then "Mothers of the night" has a robotic/repetative nature but also incorporates strings.

Overall the album remains extremely balanced, yet complex. It may be dance/electronica focussed, however it still displays elements of rap, urban, and classic, instrumental Moby. Might not be what some Moby fans are expecting but can you ever really 'expect' any one thing from this great DJ, producer, singer-songwriter?

Track Listing