Richard Melville Hall has been flailing around in search of a style he can call his own, and he may finally have cracked it with his current opus, Play. Hitching gospel, country and blues samples to a lush, trip-hop soundtrack, Moby has managed to tie together some of his scattered influences into an inspired, uplifting and slightly frayed collection. Let's see what happens when he brings it live to the people.
Previous Moby shows have seen the diminutive, bald Christian vegan switching from frantic, techno-rave wig-out to hardcore guitar grunge with all the subtlety of someone changing TV channels.
On tunes like Bodyrock and Honey, however, Moby is finally letting everything mesh together organically. The result is a satisfying blend of vintage Americana and zapped-up electronica. Backed by bassist, drummer and DJ, Moby comes on like a mix of preacher-man, Prodigy bloke and campfire folk singer, and when he's not getting the crowd to sing the blues he's dragging them, kicking and cheering, on a high-octane b.m.p. ride.
