Embrace was doing anthemic piano-driven rock years before Coldplay was (okay it was only 3 years), but the band wasn't compared to them until the release of their last album, Out of Nothing, in 2004. Back then they were seen as blending the sounds of reigning Britpop greats Oasis and The Verve. They first charted in 1997 with the brilliant "Fireworks," and then had a trio of top 10 hits over the next year from their debut album, The Good Will Out: "All You Good People," "Come Back to What You Know," and "My Weakness Is None of Your Business."
Second album Drawn From Memory (1999) took them into experimental territory, which failed to generate the calibre of hits that their first album did. Same story with weepy third album, If You've Never Been (2001).
Then came Out of Nothing (2004), a showcase of Coldplay-esque anthemic rock (Chris Martin even penned the album's big hit, "Gravity") that returned them to the top 10. The album was remarkably good, having a big, rich sound without the excesses they had been accused of indulging on earlier works. In interviews the band talked about how hard they worked on the album as if it took everything out of them, and the effort clearly shows.
Next up then is This New Day, out March 26th, and it sounds to me (at least from the Clips on 7 Digital) to be decidedly U2-inspired. First single, "Nature's Law" is really quite good. I'm very excited about the album.
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