eMusic Review
After Aphex Twin's texture-rich meanderings, the term "ambient" has often, in techno circles, been as much a flag for the culture surrounding the music as the music itself. But, as with most of Moby's output, the focus of Ambient is less on impressionistic aural haze than on the lulling, padding, wistful tunes themselves. "My Beautiful Blue Sky" evokes early Tangerine Dream or late '70s Eno at their most synthesized and serene; "Heaven," which is heavily indebted to Chicago softcore-house producer Larry Heard, bounces like a glittering beach ball, while a bleeping analogue synth melody patters beneath. "J Breas" twines simple, repetitive melodic shapes with an emotive chord pattern; the self-explanatory "Piano and String" places a similar melodic fragment over a low-key synth-string hum. The naive feel of Moby's melodies and the penitent calm of his production won't surround you — it's not that kind of ambience. But it'll relax you for sure.
