There's no shortage of waiting, but not a whole lot of payoff either on Moby's newest, Wait for Me (Little Idiot/Mute). After slightly stepping out of character to craft his upbeat tribute to the club scene with 2008's Last Night, which proved to be a predominantly successful endeavor, Moby has returned to his ambient roots. Only problem is in his absence the roots have become dry and dull, and the product they've yielded this time lacks enough substance to really lift it off the ground.
Moby arose from a strictly ambient background, and those elements have shone through to some capacity on everything he's put out ever since. But there's usually something else thrown in - techno, deep blues, big beat, gospel, hip hop, etc. - to mix it up and keep it interesting, as the case has been with his previous four releases. With the much more somber Wait for Me, it's more-or-less a repetition exercise in a lot of the same: sweeping organ synths that only hit about three or four notes, a basic drum pattern looped, possibly some additional background effects, and various vocal phrases that range from a Baptist preacher ("Study War") to a mock Ziggy-era David Bowie wannabe ("Mistake"). There are a few glimmers of promise that pop up sporadically, especially on Scream Pilots," Wait for Me" and Isolate," but they each falter in their own way and none pull enough weight to salvage the rest of the album, leaving you waiting no more and reaching for Moby's earlier stuff instead.
A Deluxe Edition of this album was released this week with extra tracks and a DVD.