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Embrace (1987 Dischord)
BAND: chris bald (bass) - ivor hanson (drums) - michael hampton (guitar) - ian mackaye (vocals)
TRACKLIST: give me back - dance of days - building - past - spoke - do not consider yourself free - no more pain - i wish i - said gun - can't forgive - money - if i never thought about it - end of a year - last song
REVIEW:
If Minor Threat was all about "you're going down the wrong path", then Embrace is all about "just get out of my face, you're done for". This is how I see the comparison in the two. Ian Mackaye sounds very, very bitter on this album, the only one Embrace lasted for. It was recorded over 2 sessions in late 1985 and early 1986, and definitely lays the groundwork, at least sound-wise, for MacKaye's future endeavors (i.e. Fugazi). He takes the other 3 members from his little brother Alec's band, Faith. Oh, and guitarist Michael Hampton was the guitar player in State of Alert, whose singer was Henry Garfield, now known as Rollins. Just had to throw that in there. Anyway, with lyrics like "I wish I could take you and shake you, I wish I could smack the blindness from your beady little eyes", it is plain to see that these guys were completely fed up with what they saw around them. Their sound definitely recalls Dag Nasty's late 80's sound. Their not hardcore enough to be Minor Threat, and not experimental/indie enough to be Fugazi. My only complaint is that at times MacKaye sounds bored, or maybe just tired. A good in between sound, for a short lived band.
