''Always Centered at Night'' is the 22nd studio album by American musician

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

, released on June 14, 2024, through Moby's label of the same name, Always Centered at Night, and

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, Einstürze ...

. Moby's first release on the label was the album's first single, "Medusa" featuring Aynzli Jones, issued in June 2022. Similarly to his 2023 album '' Resound NYC'', it features collaborations with vocalists on all tracks, although the tracks are new. The album also includes a collaboration with British writer and musician

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. Over his lifetime, he was awarded 20 honorary doctorates in recognition of his c ...

, who died in 2023.

Background

Moby commented that a thread throughout his career has been collaborating with singers and although the album "continues islove of collaborating", the focus for ''Always Centered at Night'' was "working with amazing singers who might not be as well known as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and Gregory Porter".

Critical reception

''Always Centered at Night'' received a score of 70 out of 100 on review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

based on seven critics' reviews, which the website categorized as "generally favorable" reception. '' Clash''s Robin Murray wrote that Moby acts "a fulcrum for a veritable galaxy of collaborators, resulting in an enriching, and surprising full length" and called the album both "a record replete with highlights" as well as "a rewarding experience which will do much to push back unjust preconceptions". Puja Nandi of ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' described it as "a pick 'n' mix assortment of different styles influenced by the last few decades of electronic music". '' Uncut''s Stephen Dalton felt that the "luxuriant collection is one of Moby's most consistently inviting and uplifting in years". Raul Stanciu of

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic (abbreviated as Sputnik) is a music website that publishes music reviews and news entries. The site hosts both professional and amateur content, covering metal, punk, indie, rock, hip-hop, pop and other styles. Its reviews are us ...

wrote that ''Always Centered at Night'' "boasts a charm of its own. It does feel more varied and relaxed than its predecessors, compiling bits of everything we've heard Moby compose since 2008's '' Last Night''". Reviewing the album for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Paul Simpson remarked that while it "is certainly an electronic album, with hardly any obvious rock influences, it's not strictly made up of dance tracks, either" and it "actually sounds much closer to his pop-minded albums, except that he doesn't sing any of the songs. (Nothing against Moby's own voice, but the guest vocalists are welcome, considering that they all sound much better than him.)" ''

MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

''s John Murphy found it to be "beautifully produced, with an almost cinematic sheen to many of the tracks" but also "all very one-note" as it is "stuffed with mid-tempo mood pieces that never really go anywhere".

Track listing

Formats

''Always Centered at Night'' was released on CD, LP, and digital downloads.

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2024 albums Albums produced by Moby Moby albums Mute Records albums