When I think of Moby, it’s hard not to consider his beef with Eminem, his foundation as a DJ, as celebrity, as owner of TEANY restaurant/café in NYC, and his inconsistency as a musician. At first, it sounds like all these things that are Moby work somewhat against him, and they do, but on his new album Hotel, they somewhat work for him too, unfortunately, not enough to make this one of his better offerings. Comprised of two albums, the main one being a sample-free, all-instrument made light rock album. The other, aptly titled “Hotel-ambient,” is a collection of quiet instrumentals.
A quiet relaxing instrumental intro is just a precursor to what is to come. Songs like “Raining again” and “Beautiful” could fit anywhere within his previous catalogue of hits but the stripping down of blips and bleeps that have established Moby’s own style make these new songs seem a little flat. Hearing Moby croon, Look at us, we’re beautiful, on “Beautiful” doesn’t sound believable in his rather boring sounding falsetto voice. Maybe it’s his vocal range or perhaps it is on purpose, I’m just not buying what he’s saying.
“Lift me up” and “Very” have danceable grooves that harkens back to Moby the DJ, incorporating simple feel good head shaking beats, which is the formula that helped put Moby on the map in the first place. “Temptation,” a very lite New Order cover at least is reminiscent of Moby the post-punk artist, while “Slipping Away” is one of the only tracks that has a real rock feel.
Laura Dawn, who is the creative events director for moveon.org joins Moby on a few tracks like “Dream about me” and “I like it,” which seem to break up the monotony rather than add any spark to these songs. The album plays like time filler from a modern rock radio DJs play list rather than an album with songs to pull you in and say something. Moby’s past work is filled with some memorable songs and catchy beats but this album falls flat as Moby sounds like he’s searching for something, rather than trying to take the listener anywhere. |