Moby – Last Night

Mute 2008

Rating: 7/10

Strict vegetarian and eternally bald hipster Moby returns to his platinum-selling roots on Last Night, turning toward a more electronica/dance style that characterized his hit club record Play way back in 1999. Moby has stated in interviews that this decision came about as a result of his return to DJing in the New York club scene, and Last Night definitely is a DJ’s dream.

Beginning with the catchy “Oh Yeah” and continuing nearly unabated to the album’s closer, the epic “Last Night,” the record chronicles an all-night romp through New York’s clubs, anchored by Moby’s diverse, eclectic range of beats and his obscure list of guest artists, from Nigerian MCs to “Rapper’s Delight” lyricist Grandmaster Caz.

Strong points include the 80s-tastic “Disco Lies” and the Nintendo-mimicking sounds of “257.zero,” but the record bogs down a little with the slow jam “Degenerates,” and the second half of the record overall takes the energy level down a notch. Last Night’s potential for dusk to dawn bootyshaking, however, remains much higher than most of Moby’s contemporaries.

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