Destroyed (Deluxe Edition)

Album Review

Inspired by the isolation that comes from “being the only person awake (or alive) in an empty city” in the middle of the night, Destroyed is not too much of a departure from Wait for Me, Moby’s previous studio album. Apart from being more electronic-oriented — there’s significantly less guitar and more prominent throbbing pulse — the approach and effect are largely the same. Moby shares vocal duties with a handful of female singers whose performances are spooky and sampled-sounding (“Lie Down in Darkness”), serenely insular (“The Low Hum”), and desperate but resolute (“The Right Thing”). The producer offsets several strings-heavy instrumentals, which range from to the placid “The Broken Places” to the rushing “Sevastopol,” with a handful of downcast anthems led by “The Day,” where he evokes David Bowie circa Heroes with a little Scary Monsters thrown in for good measure. Latecomers, as well as longtime fans whose favorite Moby material remains the Mimi Goese collaborations on Everything Is Wrong, should have no problem soaking it up.