After reaching a commercial peak in the 2000s, American electronic musician Moby spent a decade pursuing less mainstream dance sounds, taking his time to explore ambient soundscapes and emotive trip-hop, while later scratching a cathartic itch with his raw, frustrated techno-punk forays with the Void Pacific Choir. At the start of the 2020s, he got back to basics, offering his nostalgic 17th album, All Visible Objects. A dance record at its core, the set featured 11 pulsing club tracks devoted both to the dancefloor and to charity (all proceeds from the album went to one of 11 environmental or human- and animal-rights charities, one for each song). Seeking to heal and transcend through dance, All Visible Objects boosts Moby's activism and outspoken political voice in a less aggressive manner than on his punk-centric LPs, raising awareness through heartfelt pleas and rousing calls to arms. For the latter, he recruited Dead Kennedys' drummer D.H. Peligro and rapper Boogie for the caustic riot "Power Is Taken," a pulsing rallying cry to seize power from oppressive forces. Right after, Moby smooths out the hostility with "Rise Up in Love," an uplifting anthem that takes All Visible Objects to church along Apollo Jane's refrain "One of these days/you're gonna rise up singing...you're gonna rise up in love." Jane appears three other times on the album, each instance elevating the song to the heavens. Another of Moby's frequent collaborators, Mindy Jones, lends her ethereal vocals to a gorgeous cover of Roxy Music's "My Only Love." Weaving through sparkling piano and an enthralling beat, Jones politely sets Bryan Ferry aside and makes this song her own. Fans of Moby's more beat-centric and rave-worthy material should enjoy the album's nostalgic feel, while those who stuck by him through the 2010s will enjoy the occasional moments of introspection hidden on the back half of the record. Like 2018's Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt, All Visible Objects is a highlight in Moby's late-era catalog, a revitalization that serves both his passionately held beliefs and his core sound.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo