Dryvetyme Onlyne

Moby
Last Night
Mute; 2008

For whatever reason, dance music (techno, electronica, and associated flavors) is too often tagged as both overly derivative and stylistically sporadic; thus, it has perpetually fallen just outside of the musical mainstream. And this sucks for a guy like Moby, everyone’s erstwhile and prolific Jesus-lovin’ vegan, who seems to serve as the public whipping boy for all things wrong with techno. The underground decries his existence because he has proven to be quite successful (it was difficult to escape the musical clutches of Play and 18 in the early part of this decade), and the mainstream mocks him because, well, he makes highly accessible, get-your-ass-on-the-dancefloor dance tracks. It really isn’t his fault that he’s good at what he does and that people like his music; but for some reason, techno is deemed to belong only in clubs and only enjoyed by people who don’t like “real” music. It’s typecasting of the worst kind and it only serves to perpetuate the ignorance surrounding dance music.

So, what has Moby done in spite of all of this confusion and misdirected vitriol? He might simply have made the best music in his life. Last Night is a concept album of the best possible kind, because it allows the music to direct where the concept might next be heading. At its roots, the record is conceived as a musical accompaniment to a journey taken by Moby and his friends during a great night-on-the-town amidst the clubs of New York City. The tracks resound with classic elements native to all good house music: ’80s rhythms, heavy synth lines, upbeat piano chords, old-and-new-school hip-hop beats, and sultry female vocalists.

From beginning to end, the music sets the mood, drives the action, and propels the activities at hand. The music progresses through an intricate series of peaks and valleys, one that following the energy of the entire experience: the build-up to arrival, the heat of the dancefloor, the conversations between friends as they travel between clubs, the sultry times of the wee hours of the early morning, and the chill-down mode before everyone returns home for some much-needed rest. “Everyday It’s 1989,” “I’m In Love,” and “The Stars” easily get the blood flowing, and while “Ooh Yeah,” “Hyenas,” and “Degenerates” exude a much-needed calm, along comes “257.Zero,” “Live For Tomorrow,” and “Disco Lies” to even out the entire mix. Last Night simply resounds with enough big beats and breaks set alongside soulful, trance-inducing cuts and patterns to engage the listener at all levels. Moby has accomplished exactly what he hoped was possible with this record: craft a beautiful, smart, and alluring dance record that allows the listener to imagine that he or she is joining Moby and his compatriots out for a great night of fun.