Wait for Me

Moby
Wait for Me
9 out of 10

I'd given up on Moby. I loved him during his rave days and how he took simple melodies and attached them to great dance beats; loved him when he matured and produced one of the classic dance records of all time Everything is Wrong; and loved him more when he merged archaic field samples to pristine electronica in his masterpiece Play. Then he got caught up in his own celebrity and put together cd after cd of copycat music trying to ape the success of Play. So when word came that Moby had left his label and was self-releasing his new cd Wait for Me, I didn't really give it much thought. Then I began reading that he had been talked to by David Lynch who told him to stop making music for the masses and to make it for himself. And my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to download it.

I've told people that this album reminds me of R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People. It's an album about loss and the effects that stem from it. It is not an up album by any stretch of the imagination, but it is not depressing either. It is filled with some of the most gorgeous music Moby has ever created. I have listened to it probably twice a day every day since I've bought it. It will rival Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest as one of my favorite cds of the year.

It begins with the haunting electronic strings of "Division," whose simple melody will carry itself through a lot of the songs.



Which leads into the first half of the cd which is pretty near perfect. The poignant and moving "Pale Horses":



To the melancholy "Shot in the Back of the Head" with its surreal video directed by David Lynch:



The second half of the cd opens with the New Order-esque song "Mistake" which is the only song that Moby himself sings on the cd:



Moby had the majority of the album sung by female friends from his neighborhood. They all put in extremely moving performances. From the electro-blues of "Walk with Me"



And the delicate title track "Wait for Me":



The rest of the cd is made up of tender ambient tracks and more forays into the sampling that he is known for. But instead of sounding like a tired rehash of previous incarnations, they all move the cd to its beautiful and sad conclusion, "Isolate."



I would hate to know what Moby is going through right now to have put together such a sorrowful and gut wrenching cd. It's by far his most honest work and rewards multiple listens. It provides a backdrop for contemplating one's own life and how to make the most of the limited time we have here. It is a stunning achievement that I highly recommend.