Remember that famous Moby dis by Eminem, \Nobody listens to techno?"" It always seemed funny, because by the time Moby became well known enough to be slammed by the rapper, he had long since stopped recording straight techno.
While Eminem's latest recording, Encore, proved to be little more than a tired rehashing of the same sound, Moby's elegant, emotional new offering, Hotel, successfully allows the ever-changing artist to explore new realms while also reminding the listener of what got Moby here in the first place.
Hotel is Moby's first offering since the disappointing 18, which failed because it felt like a weak attempt to duplicate Play's magnificent formula-an album that in the hands of a lesser talent, might have become a train wreck but instead came together into a beautiful, innovative romp through several musical genres that will likely stand as the hallmark of Moby's career.
In Hotel's liner notes, Moby writes about his fascination with the paradoxes of a hotel-they are intimate spaces in which so much can happen, but it is all wiped away every day when the rooms are cleaned.
So it is fitting that so much of what works about this album seems paradoxical with the traditional idea of Moby as an artist. Gone is the heavy sampling that drove Play and 18, in favor of solid songwriting.
Moby is the lead vocalist on nearly all the tracks, although his friend Laura Dawn provides vocals on several of the songs.
Although Moby will always be cursed with a fairly weak voice, his wavering tremble works extremely well on a CD packed with intimate songs about the fragility of relationships, especially ""Raining Again,"" ""Where You End,"" and ""Slipping Away.""
While many tracks on Hotel offer Moby's interpretations of '80s synth-pop-""Temptation"" is even a cover of the New Order song-there is also plenty of familiar Moby sound. Moby's wailing guitar on ""Raining Again"" and ""Beautiful"" evoke Play's radio hit ""South Side."" Techno beats pop up here and there, most effectively on ""Very,"" in which Dawn channels a very Donna Summers' ""I Feel Love"" vibe. There is also a solid entire second CD of ambient techno that will especially please fans of Moby's I Like to Score.
While Moby may never again reach the heights of Play, it is definitely worth it to create a little vacancy on your CD rack for Hotel.
