Moby
[#] Play (1999)
Wrapped in cold.
Reviewed December 29, 2025
Listen, I can't hate Moby. Some journalist point blank asks him about his music being used as a yardstick for selling out, and he gives a serious, measured answer to it. I just find that charming, even if he is a preachy moof. I picked up Play at my local record store last winter, and as moodtronica goes, it's mighty fine stuff. This album was notoriously recorded when Moby was the biggest dipshit in the music world, stuffing the end of the album with indulgent tracks he figured no one else would actually reach—furthering my theory that artists do their best work when they think no one's listening.
A lot has been made of Play's use of folk singer samples offsetting its electronic elements, and the first four tracks rely on those the heaviest. Far from awful, even semi-catchy, what they lack is the depth and experimentation in Play's finest moments. I love the emotionless menace in "South Side". "Bodyrock" exchanges the folk samples for rap samples, coming away with Fatboy Slim's finest song he never wrote ("Machete" does similar for The Prodigy). Of the folk samples, "Natural Blues" is the first to truly harness the chilly, haunting energy they radiate, and the album's descent into reverent mood pieces from there only proves Moby's strength in subtlety.
| Essential: | "South Side", "Natural Blues", "Inside" |
|---|---|
| Quintessential: | "If Things Were Perfect" |
| Non-Essential: | "Find My Baby" |
| Rating: |  |