Embrace

Born in Bailiff Bridge, West Yorkshire, Embrace formed in the early 1990s around brothers Danny and Richard McNamara, soon joined by Steve Firth, Mike Heaton and Mickey Dale. The quintet initially followed the britpop and indie rock current of the late-1990s English scene, with a sound that blends alternative rock, melodic guitars, keyboards and an emotive vocal delivery. After the singles "All You Good Good People", "Fireworks" and "One Big Family", Embrace released The Good Will Out in 1998, followed by Drawn from Memory in 2000 and If You’ve Never Been in 2001, where the songwriting became more restrained and introspective. The band returned in 2004 with Out of Nothing, notably propelled by "Gravity", a song written by Chris Martin, and then released This New Day in 2006. After a long hiatus, Embrace resumed activity in 2013 and released Embrace in 2014, Love Is a Basic Need in 2018 and How to Be a Person Like Other People in 2022. Over the years Embrace has retained an identity centered on expansive melodic rock, positioned between post‑Britpop, pop rock and arrangements that are airier than on their early recordings.