Review: Moby - Wait For Me

Ambient sadness! Depressing harmony! Tunes straight from the heart! Moby never misses out and "Wait For Me" is the 100% proof that he can make virtually any kind of music. Going through various stylistic stages, dubious experiments and a string of successful albums Moby concentrates entirely on the taste of ambiance that was had a vibrant part in his previous records. What he left as B-sides before, now sums the whole concept of his newest album, with no over the top melodies, fancy lyrics or indigestible messages.

"Wait For Me" is for the sole delight. No commercial aiming, no pushed efforts to be radio-friendliness and no disposable resolutions. The album tries to avoid the overwhelming success of Moby, as well as being a pretentious self-centered project with high expectations. "Wait For Me" is the last call for oneself to get hold off themselves and move on despite all the pain and the lows...after all we all need someone to wait for us. With the release of this album on his own label Moby has given himself enough space to develop his devotion to ambient music. Actually "Wait For Me" is his top notch ambient project, which in no means tries to overshadow any of Moby's previous ambient attempts.

The vast majority of included tracks is entirely instrumental with only few exceptions, which is nothing new to Moby, who has released an immense amount of material without vocals. Of course, this may be seen as a major flaw to those used to Richard's popular songs and they are right to some extent. Despite all the visible efforts "Wait For Me" leaves me with the impression that it has never been really finalized and a few more vocal tracks would have done good.

Not that the whole idea for an instrumentally based album is bad, but we have to face the facts: it's the vocal tracks that brought Moby to prominence. I guess, that is the reason why the first official single from "Wait For Me" is the vocal track "Pale Horses". The songs carries a slight resemblance to songs like "Natural Blues" or "Extreme Ways", which is a wise choice for the promotion of a less commercial release. Anyways, if you are not really into the whole chill-out/lounge stuff and slow tunes "Wait For Me" may be a hard one to swallow or an easy one to be cast away as boring and unoriginal. For those who have long anticipated an entirely ambient Moby album 2009 is their year. As far as I am concerned I do appreciate the new album, but I hope Moby will keep on offering new and unexplored stuff. After all that is the whole charm of his music or?

Songs to hear: "Pale Horses", "Wait for Me", "A Seated Night", "Study Wars" and "jltf"

Rating: 7/10

Review: Riceboy Sleeps - Riceboy Sleeps

Ambient galore! That is the first thing that comes to my mind after listening to Riceboy Sleeps' eponymous debut album. Truly emotional and inspiring this record is the proof that sometimes words are useless. Music can tell a thousand splendid stories, leaving unforgettable traces without even using a single word. Plus, all those who missed Sigur Ros' earliest stuff will be in ecstasy laying their hands on such a fine product.

Riceboy Sleeps is the collaborative project of Jón Þór Birgisson, Sigur Ros vocalist, and his boyfriend Alex Somers, visual arts. "Riceboy Sleeps" explores the emotional depths of life, goes beyond the horizon and reaches out for a dreamworld, where sleeping giants roam, happiness is to be found during the Indian summer and the howl of Daníell in the sea is to be heard. All things are possible, everything is soft and the heart sings along the cords of an acoustic guitar or trembles with every violin note. The Kópavogsdætur Choir adds up to the atmospheric endeavor through mind and space and brings the light to the rather gloomy and depressive tone to the whole album.

Despite all the efforts "Riceboy Sleeps" couldn't avoid the direct Sigur Ros influence and to some extent it may be considered as the elaborate continuation of the Icelandic band's first studio album "Von" with more emphasis on the string section and less experimentation and modulation. Shared experiences, empathy and self-acceptance, introvert going extrovert, kissing the Sun hello and backpacking on the graves of hatred and vanity, love recognizes no limits and Riceboy Sleeps seem to have more in store for those ready to come to terms with themselves. Although not lyrically expressed equality and the right to be yourself is the thin red line keeping the exquisite structure of this album together. There are plenty of messages and emotional landscapes to be found with every next listen and Birgisson has given his best to leave everything open to your own interpretation. If not, listen to "Riceboy Sleeps" at least once more!

Songs to hear: "Atlas Song", "Daníell in The Sea", "Indian Summer" and "Sleeping Giant"

Personal rating: 8/10

Stuck in my mind: Moby - Pale Horses

Regularly checking my blog list I came across the newest video by Moby and his second official single from the upcoming album "Wait for Me" "Pale Horses". This is his first self-produced single and it will be released on 22th June, just a week before the album itself.

"Pale Horses" is a touching melancholic return to Moby's ambient sound filled with soothing female vocals. The song tells the story of loneliness, grief and to some extent even despair. Despite everything positivism like a beam rips apart the darkness that has the heart in a strong grip, as life is never just black or white, but with thousands of shades of gray. Vocalist is Moby's friend Amelia.