Way back in 1999, Embrace followed up their debut offering, ‘The Good Will Out’, with a curveball of a single. Hooligan, sung by the younger McNamara brother, Richard, was a complete contrast to the miserabilism that had gone before it; a jaunty, fun cut full of spirited mayhem.
Now, some eight years after ‘This New Day’, comes their long-awaited, eponymous sixth studio effort. This time we’re in for an even bigger surprise and once again it’s Richard McNamara who’s at the heart of the shift, handling much of the writing and also production duties here.
The catalyst for their return arrived five years ago with two new songs, including this album’s lead single, Refugees. Opening to sparse piano and building beat, it instantly casts Embrace as a band reborn. They sound absolutely nothing like their first incarnation.
The album title is deliberate and represents the band’s rediscovering of themselves. That meant returning to the influences that first sparked their formation in the ‘90s, with cues taken from Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division, the Smiths, New Order and U2.
Duly, there are several cuts on ‘Embrace’ that invoke memories of U2’s ‘lift off’ period of the mid ‘80s. Follow You Home is an upbeat number that borrows the chord sequence from With Or Without You to good effect, while the delicate guitar intros of At Once and the brilliant album closer A Thief On My Island recall Where The Streets Have No Name and The Unforgettable Fire respectively.
In The End owes such a debt to latter day New Order that you half expect Bernard Sumner’s recognisable drawl to appear after an instrumental opening, and The Devil Looks After His Own also borrows a beat from the band, occupying similar territory to Editors’ recent efforts. In fact, it’s only I Run, a plodding monster with a Gravity beat and trademark massive chorus, that vaguely recalls their debut.
But it’s the techno-infused tracks that really catch the eye; flashes of wonder that will give this album its longevity. Album opener Protection gives an indication of the new direction and is a stop/start affair built around a club beat and an anthemic chorus, to which the band are no strangers of course.
Self Attack Mechanism, another electro-backed, powerful track, touches upon Danny McNamara’s struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, while album centrepiece Quarters steals the show with flecks of U2 guitar among persistent synths and dance beats.
“It wasn’t perfection I was expecting,” are the first words uttered on the record, and equally no-one expected Embrace to get anywhere near it after so long out of the game. But somehow they’ve managed to return from the ashes to record their most eclectic and downright enthralling album to date. A welcome comeback.
Embrace Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri May 09 2014 - LIVERPOOL O2 Academy Liverpool
Sat May 10 2014 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Sun May 11 2014 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
Tue May 13 2014 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Wed May 14 2014 - LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds
Fri May 16 2014 - GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
Sat May 17 2014 - MANCHESTER Academy
Sun May 18 2014 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE O2 Academy Newcastle
Tue May 20 2014 - LONDON O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Wed May 21 2014 - LONDON O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Click here to compare & buy Embrace Tickets at Stereoboard.com.
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
