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Moby - Animal Rights (Mute)

Not content with his status as a dance-star, Moby has done a complete about turn and brought this punky 'Animal Rights' into existence. It couldn't be more different from 'Everything is Wrong.' Replete with the kind of songs that wouldn't be out of place on a Fugazi album, 'Animal Rights' is at the very least a brave effort. Gone is the electronic wizardry, in its place - heavy guitars, thumping drum-beats, and Moby's screaming.

Moby, seemingly disillusioned with the dance scene and its haute couture has gone back to his roots, rejecting the financially safe dance business and his previous chart success, and moving into the far more elusive punk market.

The album is not bad, but is rather derivative, covering a range of sounds, everything from Pop Will Eat Itself to Sepultura with a little Nine Inch Nails mixed in as well. But perhaps the greatest irony of the album lies in the first song. Entitled 'Now I let it Go', it's an ambient number complete with strings section and is the best track on the album. Its name, a probable attempt at irony by Moby, is an irony that turns sour on him, as the rest of the album descends into the hulking hell of heavy metal.

by Kenneth Foxe