|
Post by paulo on May 2, 2014 10:40:30 GMT
I think it's difficult for me to be entirely objective about it quite so soon, given the excitement of the release.
I bloody well love it though.
|
|
Lolli
Obsessive
Posts: 243
|
Post by Lolli on May 2, 2014 10:44:37 GMT
I think that folk need to stop comparing it to anything and everything that has come before (and yes, I do include the band in that thought) and judge it on its own merits. It's different. Get over it. Me? Any music by anyone that makes me smile inside and out is a beautiful thing. And it does. End of. This is exactly what I've been saying too Andrea. I would really love to know what people thought of the album as a stand alone piece of work and judged it on it's own merit, without any comparisons. A new fan who falls in love with this album really doesn't care if it's better or worse than TGWO, they just care that they've discovered somethign they can enjoy. Wouldn't it be a boring world if we were all exactly the same people as we were 10 years ago, doing the same things over and over? I love this album, not because it's classic Embrace, not because it's different, just because it's a bloody good album and I love the songs! Yes, yes a thousand times yes!
|
|
|
Post by joshwood on May 2, 2014 15:58:23 GMT
This is exactly what I've been saying too Andrea. I would really love to know what people thought of the album as a stand alone piece of work and judged it on it's own merit, without any comparisons. A new fan who falls in love with this album really doesn't care if it's better or worse than TGWO, they just care that they've discovered somethign they can enjoy. Wouldn't it be a boring world if we were all exactly the same people as we were 10 years ago, doing the same things over and over? I love this album, not because it's classic Embrace, not because it's different, just because it's a bloody good album and I love the songs! Yes, yes a thousand times yes! I'm really glad you guys covered this, because I nearly went on a huge rant about it last night before I went to bed, and then thought better of it. Like, I know the band kept referencing TGWO in the lead-up to this album, but they really have fuck-all to do with each other. It just really bothers me that one of the defining questions for this album is, "But is it better than TGWO?" IRRELEVANT. Also, just because Danny thinks it's their best till this one doesn't make it so...
|
|
|
Post by joshwood on May 2, 2014 15:59:46 GMT
After a week of listening (stream and itunes download) I've finally decided to give my impressions. As an album i think it's great; each track offers something different and the track order seems to flow despite the eclectic sounds. Protection is a great start and a clear indication of where they're heading, then into In the End which although instantly catchy and recognisable i wasn't overly impressed with, but has grown on me with more listens. Refugees next which i think is a stupendously brilliant song where the last 1min30secs are amongst some of the best work that Embrace have ever recorded. I Run is a great song (although slightly below what i hoped after Danny's claims about it - i was, perhaps wrongly, expecting Dry Kids Mark II). Follow You Home is just fun and superb fun at that - perfect track to appeal to people unfamiliar with the band. Quarters - great experimentation in sound and gets better every listen. Have to say i'm not overly impressed with Self-Attack and would have preferred Decades here, but i understand it's a very personal song for Danny and it is his album after all. Devil... not hooked me like many on here, but i do think it's a great tune and finally Thief...absolutely love the music and cacophony of sound at the end - not sure about the vocals on it. Also love DNA. Overall, although i don't like to compare albums, for me it's not quite up there with TGWO and is just pipped by OON. but nonetheless a very good album. For me it just misses a couple of "hits" - songs that grab you by the throat and won't let go e.g. AYGGP, Ashes, Higher Sights, a couple like that on a 12 track album and we'd be pushing. This might be an issue regarding sales as most people buy singles now rather than albums and these big sing-along-choruses built-for-singles are somewhat absent. But i still love it and enjoyed reading everyone else's opinions. Well done lads - top sausage! You missed one there fella.
|
|
|
Post by slutbunwolla on May 2, 2014 16:00:12 GMT
I'm still feeling my way into it would probably be my thoughts at the moment. I'm liking some of it, but am very indifferent to other parts. I have to say, Self Attack Mechanism - i'm pretty sure that Danny has this song on simply because he's rather pleased with the title, and as such the track means something to him and he's convinced himself (and the band) that it's a good track. I'm not feeling that at all! Do get the sense that the band have over-thought this record somewhat. Probably as a result of the rushed recordings of the previous album. I'm thinking that maybe they got too close to it, and needed a step back, it just feels a little strained rather than the natural flow of TGWO. That's not to say it's a bad album btw, as already I think overall it is pretty decent. A good solid return, but perhaps not the comeback that I was hoping for (perhaps unrealistically so). Whats with all the SAM hate?!? Bonkers! The lot of ya!
|
|
|
Post by nowimnobody on May 2, 2014 16:46:07 GMT
I'm still feeling my way into it would probably be my thoughts at the moment. I'm liking some of it, but am very indifferent to other parts. I have to say, Self Attack Mechanism - i'm pretty sure that Danny has this song on simply because he's rather pleased with the title, and as such the track means something to him and he's convinced himself (and the band) that it's a good track. I'm not feeling that at all! Do get the sense that the band have over-thought this record somewhat. Probably as a result of the rushed recordings of the previous album. I'm thinking that maybe they got too close to it, and needed a step back, it just feels a little strained rather than the natural flow of TGWO. That's not to say it's a bad album btw, as already I think overall it is pretty decent. A good solid return, but perhaps not the comeback that I was hoping for (perhaps unrealistically so). Whats with all the SAM hate?!? Bonkers! The lot of ya! I'm afraid to like it cos if we agreed on something music related there might be a crack in the space time continuum.
|
|
|
Post by slutbunwolla on May 2, 2014 16:51:45 GMT
Whats with all the SAM hate?!? Bonkers! The lot of ya! I'm afraid to like it cos if we agreed on something music related there might be a crack in the space time continuum. Haha, well as long we just agree that Im always right and you're wrong its fine!
|
|
|
Post by db7even on May 2, 2014 18:27:41 GMT
After a week of listening (stream and itunes download) I've finally decided to give my impressions. As an album i think it's great; each track offers something different and the track order seems to flow despite the eclectic sounds. Protection is a great start and a clear indication of where they're heading, then into In the End which although instantly catchy and recognisable i wasn't overly impressed with, but has grown on me with more listens. Refugees next which i think is a stupendously brilliant song where the last 1min30secs are amongst some of the best work that Embrace have ever recorded. I Run is a great song (although slightly below what i hoped after Danny's claims about it - i was, perhaps wrongly, expecting Dry Kids Mark II). Follow You Home is just fun and superb fun at that - perfect track to appeal to people unfamiliar with the band. Quarters - great experimentation in sound and gets better every listen. Have to say i'm not overly impressed with Self-Attack and would have preferred Decades here, but i understand it's a very personal song for Danny and it is his album after all. Devil... not hooked me like many on here, but i do think it's a great tune and finally Thief...absolutely love the music and cacophony of sound at the end - not sure about the vocals on it. Also love DNA. Overall, although i don't like to compare albums, for me it's not quite up there with TGWO and is just pipped by OON. but nonetheless a very good album. For me it just misses a couple of "hits" - songs that grab you by the throat and won't let go e.g. AYGGP, Ashes, Higher Sights, a couple like that on a 12 track album and we'd be pushing. This might be an issue regarding sales as most people buy singles now rather than albums and these big sing-along-choruses built-for-singles are somewhat absent. But i still love it and enjoyed reading everyone else's opinions. Well done lads - top sausage! You missed one there fella. Ha, well spotted. At Once - gets better with every listen. Actually played a few different albums yesterday & today to give it a break. Really looking fwd to hearing it again later. Sometimes repetitive play nullifies an album and a short break can make u see/hear completely new things.
|
|
|
Post by healey on May 4, 2014 18:12:11 GMT
Album got to number 5. i think thats great for the boys, especially after being away for so long and how the music world has changed in the past 8 years. Great achievement.
|
|
|
Post by DC on May 4, 2014 18:20:37 GMT
Album got to number 5. i think thats great for the boys, especially after being away for so long and how the music world has changed in the past 8 years. Great achievement. Exactly; there's not been a huge PR machine in operation so to do that is fabulous. Hopefully the position of the album on shop's shelves will drive more sales too.
|
|
|
Post by lastgas on May 5, 2014 20:00:04 GMT
My post on here was going to be completely different (I bought the album today) but I was listening to it whilst going through the posts on this site (took as long as the album played twice) & my view changed (not because of the posts but what I was listening to).
In my opinion its Embrace, but its not..... Its a new chapter for them that has been a progression from TND, its more Richards album I agree but more of a move into what Danny has been up to in the bands hiatus.....
There will never be another TGWO in my opinion as the album is just too good, but I think the band should listen to tracks like:
Top of the Heap Milk & Honey You've Only Got To Stop To Get Better
Then they would know HOW good they are.
Be RAW with their talent & ignore the crap of the industry & produce music on what they love doing.............
|
|
|
Post by lastgas on May 5, 2014 20:04:02 GMT
The only album that comes near to (or maybe beating) TGWO is Drykids......
|
|
|
Post by thedn on May 6, 2014 15:49:00 GMT
I've listened to the album a couple of times now so these remain early thoughts but I have to say (and it genuinely breaks my heart to say this) I think it's a massive disappointment. I want to preface what I say by saying that I was 17 when TGWO arrived, it's head and shoulders the most important album in my life, I would go as far as to say it changed my life - it still changes me when I listen to it. It was all at the same time brave, brash, humble, thrilling, deeply personal, universal and honest. Musically it was wall-to-wall melodies you couldn't ignore, lush orchestration and beautiful vocals. It set a standard that perhaps would be impossible to ever eclipse, but incredibly on DFM and OON I think Embrace came very close. If You've Never Been had some sublime moments (Over, Wonder, Satellites stand out for me) but fell short and the less said about TND the better. When Refugees arrived I wasn't blown away. My brother (also an Embrace fan) texted me immediately on first listen "What's with all the "production"" and it mirrored my own thoughts. It sounded like a song written on a MacBook as much as on a guitar. That said I still think it's a very strong and interesting song with a lovely and surprising last section. Follow You Home was a nice surprise, a real crowd pleaser with a huge sing-along chorus, but again I was slightly concerned about the fact that the vocals were all doubled. Two singles in and we'd barely heard Danny sing amidst reports from live shows that he was struggling. This morning on Chris Evans show they opened with a re-worked version of Ashes; again the vocals were all doubled, again Danny sounded unsure and struggled with pitch. The doubling of the vocals, the over-production and a real absence (in my opinion) of the stirring melodies that really made me love Embrace are the hallmarks of the new album for me so far. It's by no means a disaster. I think Protection, I Run and At Once are beautiful and these are songs that belong in at least the same discussion as songs like Higher Sights, Retread and Fireworks, but (and I appreciate they will grow on me over time) ultimately I think they fall short. Again the comparison between the production of the two albums does the new album no favours in the comparison and it's Danny who is insisting in every interview on making the comparison. I genuinely think he believes that they have made an album to rank alongside if not eclipse TGWO, perhaps some of you do too, but for me it's almost embarrassing to hear him say that as much as it would be embarrassing for Noel Gallagher to compare Be Here Now to Definitely Maybe. Elsewhere I just really don't follow some of the new songs. In The End might be one of the weakest things they've released I think and, though I know others will disagree strongly, I'm not a fan of Self-Attack Mechanism or The Devil Looks After His Own. Again, I'm just not drawn in by the melodies. I think Danny has focussed so much on the lyrics of this album that he hasn't found the melodies to do them justice (this is exactly the way I feel about Nature's Law - a strong lyric let down by a tedious and forgettable melody). I should say that I am no fan of songs like Even Smaller Stones, Near Life and This New Day, which I regard as low points in the band's catalogue. I know a lot of people feel differently and I suspect those people will love this album. But for those of us for whom songs like Higher Sights, Fireworks, Drawn From Memory, Someday and Out Of Nothing are favourites, I just don't hear anything on the new record that will ever capture my affection like those songs have. For me Embrace will always be that big-hearted, innocent band who (as one magazine put it) carried around an orchestra in their back pocket - the Embrace of Live at Abbey Road. All bands of course have the right to evolve and develop - indeed it would be tragic if they didn't - but that doesn't mean that fans will necessarily like where the journey takes them. For this fan of over 16 years, the over-reliance on electronica, the heavy production (in particular the doubling of vocals) and, to my ears at least, the almost total absence of any memorable Embrace melodies from the new album means that in another 16 years time, while TGWO will still undoubtedly be my favourite album ever and on regular repeat, I fear this new album will sit alongside TND, subject only to the odd curious listen and, ultimately, a reminder of the disappointment I feel now. So I wrote this fairly length first impressions review of the new album (which is on p1 of this thread) and I felt compelled to come back and re-visit what I wrote now that I've lived with the album for a fortnight. I can't tell you how pleased I am to say that my initial disappointment has disappeared and has been replaced with mostly positive feelings about the album. Dealing with the negatives first, I still don't really like the couplet of Self-Attack Mechanism (in particular) and (to a lesser extent) The Devil Looks After His Own. I would have liked to have seen either Bullets or DNA in place of SAM. But that's a personal preference and I'm sure some people will disagree. Fortunately what could be a weak final quarter of the album is largely saved by Thief which is fantastic. If I'm being hyper-critical Thief feels a little bit like Out Of Nothing part 2 in terms of tone and structure (and since OON would probably be in my Embrace Top 10, Thief isn't likely to top it for me), but it's still a thrilling end and it is the track I am most excited about seeing live. Elsewhere my major criticism was the absence of "Embrace melodies". Well having lived with it for a while I think I Run and At Once are up there with the best things they've written and melodically deserve to be talked about in the same breath as some of the great TGWO tracks. Similarly Protection keeps getting better with every listen and I was always pretty much on board with the two singles. I'm not a big fan of In The End but it's catchy and it certainly didn't deserve the savaging I gave it first time around. And Quarters continues to blow my mind every time I listen - where the hell did that come from?! Overall I think it's an interesting and varied collection with 3 or 4 songs in particular that are up there with their best, and most importantly it's the album the band wanted to make. I think a lot of my initial disappointment was sort of nostalgia-influenced: it's one of life's little bittersweet truths that I will almost certainly never love an album like I love The Good Will Out but that's as much to do with the time in your life that those important things come along, whether it's music, movies, people... I suppose you either spend the rest of your life being disappointed that nothing else ever quite measures up or else enjoy the new things for what they are at that moment whilst being grateful for the things that mean the most to you. Welcome back Embrace, congrats on the album at the #5 chart position and look forward to seeing you in London in a fortnight.
|
|
|
Post by hayleybailey on May 6, 2014 17:27:11 GMT
I'm really glad that after some time with the album you're enjoying it and that you didn't just write it off after your initial disappointment. I love SAM but can see why it's not for everyone.
I keep banging on about it but I really hope they release Quarters as a single.
|
|
|
Post by paulfinlay29 on May 6, 2014 18:40:47 GMT
Big thumbs up from me I first got into Embrace with OON - I tend to go for fairly commercial music and with Ashes and Gravity I got that in spades. For the same reason, I loved Follow You Home; it's great pop music and I would have been more than happy with an album full of FYH type songs. If truth be told I was a bit disappointed with the new album after the first listen but boy has it grown on me. I've really grown to love the darker and more electronic Embrace we have got with this album. The only song I don't like is Self Attack Mechanism - it does nothing for me, which is a shame as I'd read Danny's post (tweet?) about how this song came about and i thought it would be one of my favourites. But so what, 9 other cracking tunes - I will settle for that thank you very much. Anyway, to sum up, this is a job *really* well done. Love it.
|
|
|
Post by northernmonkey on May 7, 2014 10:12:59 GMT
Well my review earlier in this thread was pretty positive but I had some problems with the album, especially tracks like In the End and Follow You Home, sounding throw away and bland but loving this album now, even the two mentioned tracks. I think at first I was listening to it as individual tracks rather than as a complete album, but have been listening to it a few times in full while out running, and this is a great album, not as good as TGWO but I think the comparison is unfair as this is very different and maybe as good as Out of Nothing, which to me is high praise indeed. I think they lost it with the last album, maybe it was too soon for a follow up, but this feels very fresh and exciting and looking forward to hearing this live
|
|
e
New
Posts: 17
|
Post by e on May 7, 2014 20:51:04 GMT
That SAM-I-am That SAM-I-am! I do not like that SAM-I-am
Do you like White Alien Spam?
|
|
|
Post by Stephen on May 7, 2014 21:13:59 GMT
I don't like spam!
|
|
lenoir
New
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
Posts: 69
|
Post by lenoir on May 8, 2014 20:35:15 GMT
I used to...as a kid.
|
|
|
Post by willow on May 21, 2014 12:22:10 GMT
As for the "It's better than TGWO" claims... Having listened to it once, I wouldn't know. I get emotionally attached to songs/albums and I love TGWO including all its flaws so anything that proceeds it is not going to sound as good at first. Maybe after several months I will get attached to this new album and it will be better, I don't know. It's possible, it has the potential. I listened to TGWO the other day and I've decided that this new album IS better. I don't know whether it's better than OON though. Still deciding on that one. I have no idea why I thought this. It has plenty of melodies. I apologise.
|
|