Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 28/05/08
Label: Mute

For a minute there, it looked like it had all gone horribly wrong for Moby. The underground techno geek who shot from basement club obscurity to world coffee table domination after discovering, with 1999's "Play", that old blues samples and ambient synths are a TV ad man's dream, seemed to have become the very thing his early self railed against: Middle Of The Road. It's with great relief then that "Last Night" finds New York's most famous vegan coming to his senses, ditching the turgid, sample-free corporate rock of last album "Hotel", grabbing his record box and heading straight back to the dancefloor.

A beginning to end club record, "Last Night" is blissfully free of the split personality and torn dance/rock/pop/downtempo/MOR affections which have confused him of late. Easily his most coherent release since "Play", it knows exactly who its audience is and gives them exactly what they want: serious, intelligent electronica with all the highs, lows, euphoria and dark places of an expertly executed DJ set.

Older than old skool in places, quietly sophisticated in others, it swells and undulates through a brief history of dance. "Everyday It's 1989" qualifies its title with a rave-ready splurge of acid house keyboards and belting diva vocals - setting the tone for the whistles and glow stick highs which "The Stars" and "Disco Lies" ply with varying quantities of longing and hi-hats. "257 Zero" advances 20 years with lithe electro-funk and swathes of synths, paving the way for "Live For Tomorrow"'s melancholic nod, while "Alice" turns to the dank side with hypnotic post-apocalyptic rap.

As much as it's a return to Moby's roots though, it's nothing like his early techno efforts. The stylish shimmy of "I Love To Move In Here"'s vintage NYC groove, like the elegantly ambient "Ooh Yeah" and cinematic comedown "Hyenas", is club culture seen through post "Play" eyes. His DJ tastes re-produced with the benefit of multi-platinum pop experience. The results are as accessible as they are authentic, as suited to a cramped basement and thronging bar as they are the living room.

It's proper dance music for the discerning clubber and as such won't be to everyone's taste. There is a very real danger that many of those who came to Moby late will think it an obscure detour. Yet without question it's the best thing he could have done. An intoxicating record from a re-energised Moby, for the first time in years he isn't struggling to work out how to follow "Play" and "Last Night" is all the more convincing for it.

    by Dan Gennoe