Out of Nothing＜Colored Vinyl＞

Heirs to the Britpop crown fashioned by Oasis and the Verve, Embrace play large scale, immediately accessible, hook-drenched rock designed to make engulf listeners in waves of feel-good melody. OUT OF NOTHING, the band's fourth album, refines the elements prominent on earlier releases, and boasts euphorically expansive production and a batch of well crafted songs tailor-made for the charts. A case in point is the album's first single "Gravity" (co-written by Coldplay's Chris Martin), a lush number packed with emotional passion and a swelling, open-the-floodgates chorus. It is little wonder that the album debuted at number one in the U.K in 2004. Released Stateside in 2005, OUT OF NOTHING, with its soaring melodies, spiraling guitars, and epic aspirations, will likely meet with similar success in America. The album is packed with potential radio smashes--from the anthemic opener "Ashes" to the choir-assisted singalong of "Someday" through the harmonica-assisted power ballad "Wish 'Em All Away" to the piano-driven, soft/loud title track closer. There are no missteps or rough and rugged patches here: OUT OF NOTHING is supremely confident, polished mainstream rock of the first order. It paves the way for Embrace's ascendancy to the Britpop throne.

湧き上がる勇気、こみ上げる涙……一曲一曲に〈ハッ〉と息を呑むようなクライマックスが用意されており、全曲を聴き終える頃には歌詞を貪るように読んでいる自分に驚いた。コールドプレイのクリス・マーティンから捧げられた先行シングル“Gravity”すら、この中にあっては霞んでしまうほどの奇跡的なメロディーの数々。アメリカでの成功をも予感させてくれる、圧倒的な4作目の完成である!
bounce (C)冨田 明宏