Moby. Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt. Mute.
★★★+
Moby still uses many of the similar templates that made Play, his inescapable 1999 trip-hop totem, work: airy minimalist soundscapes, clipped trip-hop beats and his mopey Moby mumble set against soothing female voices.
But, listened to as a whole, it's a frequently spooky experience, one that suggests Moby's been bingeing on Danish serial killer shows.
It's also occasionally quite affecting: try The Tired and the Hurt, a morose, meandering ballad with a quite beautiful piano line, or Mere Anarchy, a brewing headache that could soundtrack an apocalypse.
In short, it's not Play, and it's only occasionally pretentious. In 2018, that's about the best you can hope for from Moby.
- Chris Schulz
