Embrace let the good will out

Still only in its early childhood as a signed commodity, the band, originally from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, has already accomplished more in a year-and-a-half than most bands ever even dream of achieving in a lifetime.

With a confident mix of traditional Northern England blue-collar vigor firmly in its grasp, in a matter of mere months Embrace has gone from playing small dungeon-like clubs to headlining the second stage at England's esteemed Glastonbury Festival this past summer. And not only has the quartet already garnered 2 top ten singles, but it has watched its debut album "The Good Will Out," soar straight in at No. 1 in the U.K.album charts, where it remained in the top 10 for the rest of the month after going gold in its first week.

Singer and co-songwriter Danny McNamara would have it no other way. One part shy romantic and two parts self-assured visionary, Danny-boy has already been the cover star of virtually all of the country's music publications, and has already been thoroughly stalked and hounded by the ever zealous British tabloids. Fans swarm the gigs, many of them in tears, just waiting for the chance to sing along to his band's powerfully epic and irresistible melodies.

And why not? After all, it's very easy to get excited about this band.

First and foremost, the music is that good.

The sheer ambition of anthems like "Come Back To What You Know" and current single "All You Good Good People," complete with strings, brass, piano and acoustic guitars, is the stuff that sold out stadium shows are made of - completely bereft of any hint of overblown or empty posturings.

Instead, McNamara successfully fills each gorgeous melody with the kind of momentous sentiments that can make even the most testosterone-laden meat head long for his teddy bear.

The brotherly songwriting tandem of Danny and younger sibling Richard supplies "The Good Will Out" with basically two types of songs: epic and not so epic, with more than a few of the tunes hovering around the six minute mark.

Embrace
The Good Will Out Geffen Records 4 stars Reviewed by Daily Music Editor Brian Cohen

Although sometimes lengthy, the songs all share a surprisingly simple and straightforward style, which makes the lush layering of instrumentation all the more palatable and effective.

Strings are present all over this debut, lifting songs like "Retread" and current U.K. single "My Weakness Is None of Your Business" into such lofty tufts of fury that you would expect some '90's reincarnation of Bach or Beethoven had a hand in the arrangements.

But as much as this is indeed music for the common man on the street - real emotions about very real life - some of the weighty feelings do get a bit soppy with time, and McNamara's sometimes-out-of-tune lower-ranged baritone does take some getting used to.

But there are gritty rockers too, of course. Future single "One Big Family" and the ever macho "I Want The World" get their messages across loud and clear, although the latter does so with a bit too much Oasis-esque sneer and perhaps not enough lyrical panache.

But on other parts of "The Good Will Out," some of Danny's lyrics certainly do tease, torment and tantalize. Take the last few blistering measures of "Higher Sights," for example. Here, it is actually possible to hear genuine inspiration, as Danny croons "Then we'll dance, those plans we make won't last/ They'll wear and fade like fools too young to run out of time."

Elsewhere, rave-ups like "The Last Gas" and "Blind" also grind their way into your head, but just don't seem to overwhelm the listener like the softer ballad "That's All Changed Forever" or the album closing title track, both of which show the band's impressive ease with quiet and dignified expression - something which has been noticeably absent from the music world in quite some time.

Cockiness and Oasis/Verve comparisons aside, Embrace's ability to write moving and sweeping songs is undeniable on "The Good Will Out," which is probably the most ambitious and well-produced debut from any band on either side of the Atlantic in the past three years.

With enough talent and potential to sustain a seemingly limitless breadth of musical possibilities, and with "All You Good Good People" starting to seep into MTV and radio airplay, perhaps Embrace will be seeing a lot more of America in the not too distant future. Perhaps America should start to feel lucky.

09-09-98