Moby's future all washed up

(Herald rating: * *)

It is almost a dead cert that Play, the soundtrack to 1999, is to Moby what the classic Moby Dick was for his distant rellie Herman Melville.

About 90 per cent of those who own the greatest work of either would have to reach for the net to be able to name anything else they have created.

Sad? Hell no, the sun may shine on a dog's ass only once in its lifetime, but in Moby's case the megaselling Play must have had a distinctly super-Viagric effect on his bank account.

What really is sad is that he now fancies himself as a singer-songwriter.

His ninth album, Hotel, offers 14 dreary 80s-flavoured knockoffs of other folk's styles. The songs appear to have been written by someone battling to achieve level 1 NCEA guitar, and the vocals, well to be frank, they're bollocks given a makeover by studio bells and whistles. If Hotel was a debut album, its creator's next job would be working in one.

Happily the same can't be said for the debut effort of Dubble D, aka Mancunian Danny Ward, who has quietly crept out from behind his drumkit to construct Reachin' Out, an accomplished lollie scramble of get-down grooves stretching from nu-jazz and reggae to hip-hop and house.

Think low candlelight, sophisticated ladies in filmy frocks, dark-wood fittings, and cigarette-flavoured incense - what with the new laws and such.

After even a quick listen, it'd be no surprise to be told he's worked as touring musical director for the likes of Rae & Christian and AIM, with whom he shares Canadian vocalist Kate Rogers.

Despite no track record of his own, Ward signed up Brazilian vocal veteran Flora Purim and her daughter Diana Booker to put words to Switch, Dianne Charlemagne repeats the quality she added to Goldie's Inner City Life, and toaster to the stars Dubdadda does the business on Love Holds.

Also popping his solo cherry is Berlin's Kaos with Hello Stranger, a Phil Bennett-esque step away from his previous gloomy-techno stylings. Maybe he's finally got some sun, but he's boogied over to more of a New York dance-punk vibe with a definite whiff of low-tech Mylo.

His extravagant dance workouts are bookended by contestants for the next Lazy Sunday album, and while much of the guts of Hello Stranger outstay their welcome, the almost Sylvester homage of Feel Like I Feel and Now and Forever, which rips off the bassline from anthem So Hungry, So Angry, go down a treat.

If happy, uplifting house is your sequinned bag, look no further than Stonebridge's Can't Get Enough, a digital party pill for teethgrinders who don't really care who it is as long as you can wave your arms in the air and go weeeeee.

These Swedes boast a baker's dozen of willing cannonfodder, sorry vocalists.

While they're busting out their bestest, it still reeks of a New Zealand Idol Disco special.

Finally, Basement Jaxx. Like the Chemical Brothers, these guys have outlasted most of their contemporaries. Unlike the Chemical Brothers they have managed to find new gears when it's been required.

But the Jaxx boys, Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe, want to make it clear The Singles should not be seen as a greatest hits compilation. Their evolution from production duo to onstage festival stars has put them in front of fresh ears and this has been tossed out as a catch-up beginners' guide for newbies.

All the hits from Romeo to Good Luck are rolled out along with two freshly minted tracks for the fans, the rocky U Don't Know Me and the disco-flecked Oh My Gosh.