The world would be a different place if Moby had never released that 10 million-selling album 'Play'. For one thing, huge companies would have had to work a little bit harder to find a soundtrack to their gargantuan advertising campaigns. The musician himself would probably either be solely revered for his early techno material, or be best known as a strange little vegan man, who happens to release albums on the side.
But it's been 10 years since 'Play', and despite selling millions more albums in the ensuing decade, Moby hasn't really come up with anything to match 'Porcelain' or 'Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?'. Taking a slightly different route for album number nine, however (heavier on atmosphere, lighter on radio-friendly dance crossovers) means that 'Wait for Me' is his best collection in some time.
It makes sense that eccentric director David Lynch apparently provided the inspiration for this album; songs like the brilliantly creepy 'Hope is Gone' would slot effortlessly into a scene from Blue Velvet or Twin Peaks, while the ghostly, crackling choir on 'A Seated Night' and the gloopy underwater feel of 'Ghost Return' (with an effect that sounds like a malfunctioning submarine radar) are equally intense. The slow-moving 'JLTF1' even recalls Sigur Rós - unsurprising, since the man who mixes the Icelanders (Ken Thomas) also pieced together this album.
That's not to say that 'Wait for Me' is perfect; there's some tokenistic Moby trickery here and there, too - like the soft, glitchy trip-hop numbers ('Pale Horses') and vocal samples looped tiresomely ('Study War'). Even still, those with a particular dislike for the diminutive baldy will find it difficult to find fuel for their fire here.
