Moby - Innocents

Moby has been in a somewhat curious position ever since his surprise 1999 mega-hit Play, which sold over 10 million copies on the back of every single track being licensed for advertising use. Whilst not exactly becoming a marginal concern, he has not enjoyed the same level of commercial success since, and hasn’t exactly been a critics’ darling either, with the ethereal electro of albums such as 18 and Hotel meeting with decidedly mixed reviews.
There are no major surprises on his latest release Innocents, which has a quite melancholy feel, and generally favours the sort of otherworldly electro sounds Moby has become famous for. Tracks like ‘Everything That Changes’, ‘A Case For Shame’ and ‘The Last Day’ all have an elegiac quality, with synth washes, plaintive piano and dreamy ambience the order of the day.
There is a notable change of pace on ‘The Perfect Life’, which features Wayne Coyne and goes for an uptempo, anthemic feel but – like much of The Flaming Lips’ output – has a certain tweeness to these ears. A collaboration with Mark Lanegan, ‘The Lonely Night’, also falls a bit flat, whilst the instrumental ‘Saints’ has shades of Massive Attack’s classic ‘Unfinished Sympathy’, but falls short of the latter’s majestic grandeur.
The infectious dance tune ‘A Long Time’ – which harks back to the Alan Lomax field recording samples that dominated Play – hints at what might have been. But overall there are peaks and troughs in almost equal measure.

Key Track: 'A Long Time'