Free Moby

Moby has just released a “free exclusive mix” of tracks from his upcoming album, Last Night. At just nine minutes, it’s not the most generous free mix ever released, and it doesn’t allow for too many generalizations about the new album, but there’s some great stuff on here.

After his Play stardom, Moby’s albums emphasized the man over the music, cramming too much of Moby’s thin vocals into Moby’s over-structured songs. They began to sound like his long-winded linear notes read, and old fans and new ones alike abandoned ship.

No longer a star, Moby wisely falls into the background here, however. He doesn’t sing at all, he just lets his grooves breathe. He’s promised Last Night will be a dance album, not a pop album, and judging from this download, he’s made good on his word. There’s quite a bit of Justice-styled disco and electroclash here, and more energy than you’d expect from the stigmatized, vegan whipping boy. Without abandoning his signature cinematic washes, Moby’s proved he can still throw down a convincing party mix—something he hasn’t done for a long time.