If You've Never Been

Embrace are well-known for their epics, and they open and close the album with two of their best yet: 'Over' has a beautiful melody and floats along like a butterfly that's had too much nectar; 'Satellites' features Danny's best vocals yet, and the last minute of the song is indescribably lovely.

In between are eight wonderful pop songs. 'Make it Last' and 'It's Gonna Take Time' both sound like future hits; 'I Hope You're Happy Now' sounds a bit like The Littlest Hobo - but in a good way! There are no rock songs like 'One Big Family' or 'New Adam New Eve' which will disappoint some. But as a mood album, IYNB is consistently brilliant. If you like Travis and Coldplay you'll love this.

With their last two albums, they got so close, but put too much in. With Good Will Out, their ballads and poignant piano-led numbers were overshadowed (or rather bullied) by the more Oasis-like screaming tracks.

With Drawn From Memory, they tried something more eclectic and, whilst it had its moments, as a whole it didn't stand up as well. Despite standout tracks You're Not Alone and the kazoo inspired Hooligan, it all seemed clever but a bit contrived.

Now, with In You've Never Been, despite the uninspiring title (surely an eponymous Embrace album would've been better), they have released an album of ten songs that doesn't have a duff track on it and, if played from start to end, all hangs together very well.

The first track Over is a great opener and sets the standard for the rest of the album. For once, the orchestration on an Embrace track is well balanced with the other elements. I Hope You're Happy Now has a brief but catchy chorus and leads into the first single on the album, Wonder. Not sure what this song is all about, but it works well. Many Will Learn, probably the weakest track on the album, sounds like a Simon and Garfunkel b-side. It's Gonna Take Time ups the tempo at just the right moment, but for once keeps the vocals clear. The best track, Hey, What You Trying To Say, is one you'll keep skipping forward to. Great hook and a brilliantly understated vocal - "Stars remind you you see the best in the dark..."

The next track If You've Never Been In Love With Anything starts on familiar ground, then moves onto a catchy chorus and some tongue-in-cheek Beach Boys-style singalong vocals. Make It Last has a great first line - "Why did you run? I'll always let you leave" - and mirrors Wonder in its structure. But it's a superb track, even though the vocal is not as nearly as good as the single version, for which it was re-recorded.

Happiness Will Get You In The End is the sound of Embrace winding the album down. Played as a whole, at this point you start to realise it's going to end soon... A slow number, Happiness is a great antidote to the preceeding few uptempo songs. It also segues brilliantly into Satellites, which is like one of those brilliant Embrace b-sides that you feel lucky to have stumbled across (Embrace fans will understand!). It has the sound of crashing waves in the background and Danny's voice lets us down gently. It leaves you wanting to press play again and play Over once more.

Danny's vocals are finally coming into their own. I wish in a world where Travis conquer all with their lollipop lyrics and bland live act that Embrace were embraced by more people. This album is a perfect place to start your acquaintance. When will they release a compilation of their b-sides?

Sound-wise, this album is much more organic and free-flowing than previous efforts, the songs are structurally more mature and subtle than on debut album 'The Good Will Out', and stylistically less schizophrenic than on 'Drawn From Memory'. That's not to say that the album isn't varied though - Embrace are far too eclectic in their muse and inspiration to ever be as predictable as Travis or Stereophonics. They are not, as is often thought, masters of stodgy, 'anthemic northern guitar rock', despite what early songs like 'Come Back To What You Know' and 'All You Good Good People' might suggest. One listen to their second album, or a trawl through their high quality b-sides and EP tracks will reveal this.

'If You've Never Been' begins with the towering, staggering pinnacle of 'Over'. Drenched in tumultuous guitar lines and embellished with xylophone, strings, and harp, it moves through itself unlike anything the band have achieved before, building from tiny atmospheric foundations to a heady, bewildering psychedelic climax, before slowly winding back in on itself again, some seven minutes later. Embrace have begun both their previous albums with rousing, neo-psychedelic epics, and 'Over' does not let up on that tradition one bit. Danny McNamara claimed on the band's website recently that finally conquering 'Over' was one of the highlights of his career so far. Listening to it here, one can see why. It is truly awesome.

'Over' is followed by the sweet, melodic anti-industry pop of 'I Hope Your Happy Now', drenched in hooks and immersed in the beatific vibes of Simon And Garfunkel's 'Only Living Boy In New York'. If there are precedents for this album in Embrace's previous canon, then they are 'I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You' and 'I Had A Time' rather than 'Higher Sights' or 'Come Back To What You Know'. The only nods toward anthemicism come with 'It's Gonna Take Time' and 'Wonder', the first of these being a raucously joyful stomp, and the latter a much more mature, organic and spiritually rewarding hymn to redemption than the band were capable of previously.

The (sort of) title track, 'If You've Never Been In Love With Anything' is a gorgeous, boisterous Beach Boys homage, like Spiritualized playing 'Good Vibrations', replete with gorgeous harmonies, parping brass, spiraling psychedelic guitars, and more hooks than a big strip of velcro. With 'Pet Sounds', Brian Wilson claimed he wanted to make music that "made people feel loved." Looking back at Embrace's career in the light of their third album, it seems as if this has largely been their noble goal right from the start. With 'If You've Never Been' they are now closer to attaining this than ever before.

The richness of sound that Embrace have achieved on this album is astonishing, especially when one considers that it is their cheapest and most quickly recorded album yet. It just goes to show that one can over-egg the pudding, and that Embrace were guilty of this with their debut LP. 'If You've Never Been' however, is sonically sumptuous, atmospheric and evocative from start to finish, as well as containing some of the strongest songs the band have produced so far.

If there are themes to this album, then they are largely those that have run through Embrace's previous work, only now, like the songs and the band, they are subtler and more fully realised. Ideas of redemption through love and self-discovery run through this album, as well as the band's habit of proffering advice to those around them, though this time there is a darker, more introspective tone to much of the album.

The album ends with 'Satellites', a beautiful, empowering song that explicitly reveals the band's heart and soul to the listener. Gorgeously written and played, and lovingly embellished in atmospheric found-sounds, it evokes the most profound feelings, and it's mood is reflected perfectly by the album's cover artwork. Richard's best melody combines with Danny's best lyric and the band's most intuitive and moving arrangement to produce arguably Embrace's most moving song. Even on an album of this quality, it is some achievement.

After a few false starts, a lot of stultifying hyperbole, a great deal of misapprehensions about what the band stood for and wanted to achieve, and far more criticism then they ever deserved, Embrace have produced an album that, by rights, should see the critics fall to their knees and apologise. Whether this will be the case or not remains to be seen. But what is sure, is that 'If You've Never Been' is an extraordinary album by a band who get better and better, and who very few people seem to understand.