Moby – ‘Future Quiet’ album review: Is there such a thing as beautiful pain?
I have to be honest: it feels almost intimidating to write about a behemoth musical presence like Moby – he’s a pioneer, a true muse, the man who spearheaded 1990s dance music and brought it to the mainstream, but if you’re looking for more of the same, this is not the place.
The Skinny: In fairness, with over 30 years’ worth of albums under his belt, Moby is more than entitled to take a sonic pivot; no one is disputing that for a second. But by the time we’ve reached record number 23 – Future Quiet, set to be released on February 20th via BMG – he is unrecognisable to the artist he began as.
Over the course of recent years, the musician has taken an interest in the more serene side of life, away from the nightclubs and the strobe lights, to focus on ambient music over his electronic hitmakers. Future Quiet is, without a doubt, tipped firmly towards the former end of the scale. But it’s not quite the same, either.
Throughout the span of 14 tracks, it is made more than clear that there is no defence here: it is Moby, his piano, and very little else. That makes for an intriguing composition anyway, given what we know of the man’s musical history, but there soon emerges an almost incessant need to keep you listening for far longer than is really necessary.
Certainly, the album opens on an interestingly familiar note: with Moby rehashing his 1995 song ‘When It’s Cold I’d Like To Die’, buoyed by its new life on the soundtrack of Stranger Things and this time sung by Jacob Lusk, otherwise known as Gabriels. Cards on the table; it’s a beautiful, entrancing rendition, sinking the record to its deepest, most indulgent depths almost instantly.
Then comes the second track, ‘This Was Never Meant For Us’, another tender opus, before the soaring instrumentals of ‘Retreat’. Lovely. But then you look at your watch, and realise you’re 15 minutes in but only three tracks deep. Then you look at the runtime and gawp – 85 minutes?! This is going to be a long haul.
This is the major sticking point of Future Quiet. It’s beautiful, but just way too long, to the point where it’s painful. There are high points, particularly the song ‘On Air’ with vocals from Serpentwithfeet, but there does come a limit to how many slow-wrought piano pieces one can bear in a single listen.
The Verdict: Moby has more than proven that he deserves to be hailed as a musical maestro of the highest order. Whether it’s in filling dance floors or the most intimate of all candlelit concerts, he commands a power which is both endearing and endlessly enigmatic. You have to commend the fact that, at 60 years old and with a wealth of experience, he is indeed perhaps looking towards a quieter future.
Yet by making the listener sit there for nearly an hour and a half, while he plays minor chord after minor chord, with plenty of silent gaps in between, the whole effect of the album slowly diminishes and fades into something increasingly tired. It’s a shame, because the intent was clearly never to turn the audience away.
Defining Track: ‘On Air’
Release Date: February 20th, 2026 | Producer: Moby | Label: BMG
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