Moby - Destroyed

You know who Moby is, but do you really know Moby? Yes, in many respects he’s quite an open book, keeping an online journal and never shying away from discussing religious beliefs or political tendencies. Digging into his musical mind though? That’s a whole different story. We’re talking about a guy who has put out 10 original albums, largely on his own. He always welcomes a guest vocalist or two and loves to sample from other works, but mostly his albums are a trip through his mind and his mind only. Knowing this helps make sense of Destroyed, his latest effort which was mainly composed during late-night insomnia sessions. It probably shouldn’t be surprising then, that many of the tunes come off as…sleepy.

Starting with a whimper more than a shout, Moby’s clearly not trying to grab anyone’s attention with the first couple of tracks. “The Broken Places” opens on a soft and cyclic pattern with, by the song’s end, little departure from note one. It immediately leaves the hope of wanting something more, and while “Be the One” heads in the right direction, it isn’t until “Sevastopol” that things get rolling with a little more tenacity. The driving beat and leading strings are clearly the focus, but where Moby begins to deviate with “Sevastopol” is through amazingly simple chord changes. Who knew so little could mean so much?

“The Low Hum” is the first of several vocally-focused tracks, which really give the album some heart. The vocals not only add some instrumental flavor, but also give the tracks the lead melody that is lacking from many others. And while “Rockets” teeters between the instrumental monotony of the early tracks and the depth of the middle tracks, “The Day” offers the best combination of electronica, conventional song structure and even some clarity into what Moby is thinking, as he jumps in on vocals.

One of the things that made Moby’s 1999 hit album Play so successful was his inclusion of so many musical stylings, incorporating acoustic instruments and alluring vocals with synth strings and techno beats, leaving something for everyone to savor. And while there are tastes of this on Destroyed with tracks like “Victoria Lucas,” “The Right Thing,” and “The Violent Bear it Away”, what seems to be lacking is the creative song structures. There are clearly hints of genius in many of the tracks, but there are also strong traces of someone who’s just dialing it in and not giving it his all. The last quarter of the album is perhaps the best example of this, with “Lacrimae” going as far as nearly replicating “Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad” from Play. Luckily, the fact that there are 16 tracks means a greater portion of the album is worthy of some attention.

In the end, Destroyed certainly won’t turn as many heads as Moby’s other works, most notably Play, and for good reason. As many brilliant music reviewers have said before, there is a fine line between good, creative electronica and doing something anyone with a midi-controller and some recording software can do. And while a greater portion of Destroyed offers the passion that we know Moby has in him, unfortunately that ingenuity is overshadowed by the album’s lackluster bookends. And seeing as the overarching “theme” of the album ultimately falls flat, maybe next time he’ll hone his focus to a shorter, and consequently more powerful product.

Rating
Overall: 3/5
Originality: 2.5/5
Production: 4/5
Listenability: 2.5/5