Moby - Last Night

21st Century schizoid man gets back on the dancefloor

Moby comes from that breed of New Yorkers, also including Blondie and LCD Soundsystem, who manage to accompany groundbreaking artistic vision with huge commercial success, frequently paying tribute to the old hometown. His last few albums (18, Hotel) were fairly mellow, and saw this original punk get numbered as a kind of clubland Cliff Richard. It was totally unjust but, reacting against this squeaky clean image, Moby has returned to the excitement of the early 80s streets and clubs which inspired him, while taking the listener out with him, from warm-up, to peak, down to sunrise stagger.

Crucially, Moby plugs in to the root of New York’s club history with genre-spanning eclecticism, from the party-rocking hip-hop of I Love To Move In Here (featuring Cold Crush’s Grandmaster Caz and Alice, created with young UK rappers 419 Crew and Aynzli), to his beloved piano-driven rave screamers, rearing majestically on the self-explanatory Everyday It’s 1989. Euro-disco pumps through Disco Lies, while Kudu’s Sylvia Gordon charts an atmospheric morning cityscape on the closing title track, but there’s so much more. Moby needed to make an album this vibrant and on the button while reminding the world that New York City has a lot to answer for.

Mute | CDSTUMM 275

Reviewed by Kris Needs
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