More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse is the fourteenth studio album by American electronica musician Moby and the second studio album by Moby & The Void Pacific Choir, a musical project formed by Moby with musicians Jamie Drake, Mindy Jones, Julie Mintz, Joel Nesvadba, Jonathan Nesvadba, and Lauren Tyler Scott. It was released on June 12, 2017 as a free download and released physically on June 16, 2017 by record labels Little Idiot and Mute.[3][4][5]
| More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse | ||||
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| Studio album by Moby & The Void Pacific Choir | ||||
| Released | June 12, 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2014–16 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 35:46 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Moby chronology | ||||
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Background
editNews regarding More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse first appeared in May 2017 as various retail stores began taking vinyl pre-orders. A few days before its official release date, the album was announced through a satirical press release credited to a spokesperson named "John Miller", a reference to the name under which Donald Trump addressed reporters in the 1980s.[6] In the press statement, Moby, under the John Miller alias, mocks himself and the album.[6] A link was also provided, leading to a free download of both More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse and These Systems Are Failing.[7]
On June 20, Moby released the music video for the track "In This Cold Place", directed by Steve Cutts. Much like the video for These Systems Are Failing's "Are You Lost in the World Like Me?", it is a Looney Tunes-inspired animated clip in which the album's main themes of veganism, animal rights, environmental safety, political and social issues as well as their drastic consequences are portrayed. It rapidly drew negative attention from Republican Party and Trump supporters, against whom Moby rails.[8][9]
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 63/100[10] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Classic Rock | [11] |
| PopMatters | 5/10[2] |
| The Spill Magazine | [12] |
| Sputnikmusic | 3.8/5[13] |
| Under the Radar | 5.5/10[14] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse received an average score of 63, based on five reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[10] Noting that the "shadow of the 2016 United States presidential election looms large over the project", Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic wrote that Moby's "anger and exhaustion is palpable, so even songs about simple heartbreak and loss come packed with a gravitas borne of wider issues", ultimately calling the album "a refreshing change of pace, a frantically urgent statement that taps into the visceral with a welcome blast of noise from a voice that still has much to say."[1]
Willim Nesbitt of PopMatters wrote a lukewarm review, crediting Moby for the stylistic shift explored on the album but adding that "like Bowie and anyone else willing to try something different, not every shot hits the target", concluding: "To some extent, it's a pastiche and collage of earlier work with its use of electronica and distorted rock/punk, but it doesn't reach the levels of the early Moby catalog that it draws from. It's neither as rough as it wants to be nor as developed as it needs to be."[2]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Moby
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Silence" | 3:56 |
| 2. | "A Softer War" | 4:29 |
| 3. | "There’s Nothing Wrong with the World, There’s Something Wrong with Me" | 3:52 |
| 4. | "Trust" | 2:50 |
| 5. | "All the Hurts We Made" | 5:06 |
| 6. | "In This Cold Place" | 3:57 |
| 7. | "If Only a Correction of All We’ve Been" | 5:25 |
| 8. | "It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye" | 3:27 |
| 9. | "A Happy Song" | 2:49 |
| Total length: | 35:46 | |
Personnel
editCredits for More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse adapted from album liner notes.[15]
- Moby – production, writing, vocals
- Mindy Jones – vocals
- Gavin Lurssen – mastering
- Mark Needham – mixing
- Jonathan Nesvadba – studio assistance, technical support
- Tyler Spratt – mixing assistance
- Artwork and design
- Melissa Danis – photography assistance
- Mike Jones – design
- Jonathan Nesvadba – photography assistance
- Moby – photography
References
edit- ^ a b c d Yeung, Neil Z. "More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse – Moby / Moby & the Void Pacific Choir / The Void Pacific Choir". AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Nesbitt, William (August 10, 2017). "Moby: More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse". PopMatters. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ Yoo, Noah (June 12, 2017). "Moby Releases New Album Via Fake Trump Press Release: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ Geslani, Michelle (June 12, 2017). "Moby & The Void Pacific Choir release new album, More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse, for free: Download". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ "More Fast Songs About The Apocalypse". Amazon. June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- ^ a b Reed, Ryan (June 12, 2017). "Moby Releases Free LP, Fake Trump Press Statement". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ "John Miller PR". John Miller PR. June 12, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ^ Al-Sibai, Noor (June 20, 2017). "Trump Supporters are having a white hot meltdown over Moby's latest music video". The Raw Story. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ^ Bell, Sadie (June 23, 2017). "Moby Responds to Alt-Right Hate for 'In This Cold Place' Video with Another 'John Miller' Statement". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
- ^ a b "Reviews and Tracks for More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse by Moby & the Void Pacific Choir". Metacritic. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
- ^ Dalton, Stephen (July 16, 2017). "Moby & The Void Pacific Choir – More Fast Songs About The Apocalypse album review". Classic Rock. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ "SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MOBY AND THE VOID PACIFIC CHOIR – MORE FAST SONGS ABOUT THE APOCALYPSE". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ Stanciu, Raul (June 18, 2017). "Review: Moby – More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ^ Matt the Raven (June 13, 2017). "Moby & The Void Pacific Choir: More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse (Mute)". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse (liner notes). Moby & The Pacific Void Choir. Little Idiot. 2016. IDIOT057CD.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
External links
edit- More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse at Discogs (list of releases)
- More Fast Songs About the Apocalypse at MusicBrainz (list of releases)