Embrace are back with their first new material since 2006, with Danny McNamara stating the band had been away so long because they were unwilling to return with an album unless it was better than their 1998 debut 'The Good Will Out'.
"That was the rule we set, and I think we've done that. If I was going to explain Embrace to a person that had never heard us, I'd play them 'All You Good, Good People', from our first album, 'Ashes' from 'Out Of Nothing' and this new album from start to finish."
"Some people who've heard the single have said it's not what they'd expect from us and that it doesn't sound like Embrace, but I think we've always moved things forward and tried new things. We've been away for quite a while, and for us this feels like natural evolution."
Source - nme.com
It is a bullish statement, backed up by 'Refugees', the first single to be taken from their forthcoming eponymous album 'Embrace' that will be released in late April.
Beats kick in before melancholic piano chords are played over the top, bubbling synth comes in before Danny McNamara starts singing better than I have ever heard him before.
Nothing is rushed, much like the album which McNamara says that they have been working on for 5-years, only finishing it last week.
The chorus lifts things higher, soaring and flowing superbly. And things just keep getting better!
Following the second chorus, there is a brilliant synth instrumental that builds into a crescendo lasting for a full minute before McNamara comes back in sounding all reflective and beautiful.
I've always enjoyed seeing Embrace live, including some classic shows at King Tut's and the Barrowland. I hope they return to Glasgow soon. They have announced some small Scottish shows HERE.
Have to say that I am blown away by this. Check the video below;
