<copy><![CDATA[It would be tempting to say ΓÇ£ItΓÇÖs like theyΓÇÖve never been awayΓÇ¥ about EmbraceΓÇÖs fourth album, Out of Nothing. So instantly recognisable are the hooks, anthemic chord progressions, phoenix-from-the-flames lyrics and singalong choruses thrumming throughout its 10 tracks. And so speedily will they zap fans back to the muzzy days of the Britpop hangover. Except that Embrace have been away ΓÇô and for longer than is generally considered advisable in rock terms. ΓÇ£We didnΓÇÖt plan to be away for three years,ΓÇ¥ says Danny McNamara, lead singer and infamous motormouth, referring to the hiatus since 2001ΓÇÖs commercially unsuccessful If YouΓÇÖve Never Been (their last on the Hut label). ΓÇ£We promised when we signed to Independiente that we werenΓÇÖt going to come back until weΓÇÖd written what we felt was our best album, and itΓÇÖs taken us that long, and pretty much every penny we had. In that time, weΓÇÖve probably had about 10 days off.ΓÇ¥ One of the key changes since Embrace last bothered the charts is the death of dance and the rise of melodic rock. Back in the day, through what first seemed like good fortune and then looked like a curse, the Huddersfield band were identified with the post-Britpop, Cool Britannia demographic. Oasis spawned a dozen copycat acts, and for a while the Top 20 was happy to accommodate them. But fashions change and, through no fault of their own, Embrace were bracketed as yesterdayΓÇÖs men as the era of dance and the superclubs took over. And there things looked like being stuck ΓÇô until bands such as Coldplay and Travis breathed new life into the concept of thoughtful, sensitive songwriting being commercially viable, with as much of a claim on daytime-radio airwaves as the increasingly ubiquitous American R&B acts. Keane are now reaping the benefits of this new wisdom. Embrace, with a well-connected ace up their sleeves, may well be about to do the same. When the then little-known Coldplay supported Embrace in Blackpool four years ago, McNamara struck up a friendship with Chris Martin that endures to this day. In person or by phone, they would report on the progress of their respective albums, play each other songs, provide feedback, a subtle competitive edge to their exchanges. In 2002, Martin played McNamara a new song, Gravity, which the Coldplay singer opined was more like an Embrace track, so why didnΓÇÖt<br>they record it instead? ΓÇ£I really loved it,ΓÇ¥ McNamara recalls. ΓÇ£Chris thought it sounded too much like us for Coldplay to do it. I argued with him but he was pretty insistent about it.ΓÇ¥<br> <br> Embrace duly recorded the song and were pleased with the results. Even so, they needed some persuading that it was the right ΓÇ£comebackΓÇ¥ single for a band famously proud of their craft. Pragmatism, though, won the day. ΓÇ£The label said, ΓÇÿLook, if we release Gravity first, then these other songs you want to release will all do better off the back of itΓÇÖ,ΓÇ¥ McNamara admits. ΓÇ£And we donΓÇÖt want to do anything that will stand in the way of this album. ΓÇ£I want to go and break America. I want to take on the world with this.ΓÇ¥ McNamara has always talked a good fight, but the smash-hit potential of new tracks such as Ashes, Someday and Spell It out lends weight to his confidence. ΓÇ£We tried to write a song better than All You Good Good People [their breakthrough hit], and I think weΓÇÖve done it with Ashes and Someday. WeΓÇÖve been promising that we would for eight years, and I think a lot of people have thought, ΓÇÿYeah, yeahΓÇÖ. But weΓÇÖve finally done it.ΓÇ¥ Richard, his guitarist brother, nods in agreement as Danny concludes: ΓÇ£ItΓÇÖs a big second chance for us, kind of a comeback.ΓÇ¥ And signing off with typical drollness: ΓÇ£WeΓÇÖre going for the best newcomer Brit.ΓÇ¥ Welcome back.]]></copy>
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<headline><![CDATA[<br>Back for good]]></headline>
<quote><![CDATA[After performing their new single live and exclusively for The Month, Embrace reveal why it took so long to get their return just right. By Dan Cairns]]></quote>
