EMBRACE + SLOW TEAM – CHALK, BRIGHTON 26.11.24
Yorkshire post-Britpop quintet Embrace arrived at Chalk in Brighton tonight on date eight of eleven in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their massive-selling No.1 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album, which we luckily heard in its entirety along with their other greatest hits.
This tour has followed on from the band’s huge Leeds, Kirkstall Abbey show back in July, where Embrace played ‘Out Of Nothing’ in full for the first time ever, in front of 6,000 fans. That night they were supported by Ocean Colour Scene, Ash, Sleeper and CUD. Since that date, Embrace have played a number of festivals, not just here in the UK, but abroad in Canada, USA, Germany and France.
Released in September 2004, ‘Out Of Nothing’ became the band’s biggest selling album of their career to date, debuting at No.1 and going on to sell over 600,000 copies, double platinum, in the UK alone. The album catapulted the band back to the top of the charts off the back of huge top 10 hit single ‘Gravity’, written by Danny McNamara’s friend and Coldplay main-man Chris Martin, and the anthemic hit single ‘Ashes’. Produced by legendary producer Youth (of Killing Joke fame), ‘Out Of Nothing’ was the band’s fourth studio album and came three years after Embrace had been dropped by former record label Hut Recordings. Released on Independiente Records after label boss Andy Macdonald saw the newly dropped Embrace play a sold out show at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the album was a vindication of the band’s self-belief and determination to carry on. Critically acclaimed at the time, and famously dubbed by NME as “the best comeback since Lazarus!”, ‘Out Of Nothing’ has endured as a classic album of the genre.
Embrace have scored three No.1 albums, and six Top 10 singles in their career to date, selling over two million albums in the process. The band’s eighth studio album ‘How To Be A Person Like Other People’ was released in 2022 and became the band’s eighth Top 10 charting album in succession.
Tonight is actually my second encounter with Embrace, having seen them at the massive Cardiff Principality Stadium in Wales on 11th July 2017, as main support to Coldplay. That day it had been constantly raining and I was drying off as I watched them in action. My review on them read as thus:
“Next up were Embrace. The post Brit-pop ones who hail from near (Brighton and Hove Albion’s fellow promoted footie team of) Huddersfield. The boys were back after a sabbatical during 2007 to 2010, having been working together since 1990. The McNamara brothers, Danny and Richard and their pals set tonight started quite sedately and then as they performed and the Coldplay fans slowly but surely started to (dry out) warm to them, their songs better and better. An obvious one for the Coldplay fans was their really decent timeless 2004 Top 10 single ‘Gravity’, which was actually penned by some bloke called Chris Martin. His band had supported Embrace four years earlier and so he was repaying the debt no doubt.
Embrace also performed their 2006 No 2 single ‘Nature’s Law’, their debut Top 10 single ‘All You Good Good People’, it’s follow-up single ‘Come Back To What You Know’ which got to No 6 (two places higher than its predecessor) and the catchy ‘Ashes’ single from their ‘Out Of Nothing’ No 1 album. They have actually had 3 top slot albums, the others being 1998’s ‘The Good Will Out’ and the 2014 self-titled comeback album. So by the end of their set the crowd were warming up rather nicely”.
This evening at Chalk the full capacity crowd were also warning up nicely for the band’s 1 hour 45 minute 18 song performance which commenced three minutes before the lads graced the stage at 8pm. At 7:57pm the house lights were extinguished and the warm-up backing tape pumped out music whilst red circle lights dotted around the stage flashed on and off, as if to give the indication that something big was about to happen! Having initially seen Embrace from many yards away in Cardiff, it was almost unreal to see the lads up close tonight, with frontman Danny McNamara a mere 5 feet away from me! He greets us “Hello Brighton ya alright?”. Stage right (our left) out front is Steve Firth who jumps between a couple of bass guitars throughout the set, at least one of these I can see is a Fender Precision. Behind Steve in an elevated position is Michael Heaton on drums and Roland drum pads. As you would expect, centre front is spokesperson vocalist Danny McNamara, who also digs out his harmonica for one of the tunes. To Danny’s left (our right) is his brother Richard McNamara who takes care of lead guitar duties as well as backing vocals, and lead vocals on one of the tunes. Thankfully Richard has two guitars on the go throughout the set, as he gets over enthusiastic with one of them. To the rear of Danny, sits the final member of the quintet, this being Roland RD-2000 keyboardist and backing vocalist Mickey Dale who is sporting a (surely hot) white hat.
The venue is now at full capacity as the lads kick off with the first of three offerings from 1998’s ‘The Good Will Out’ album, this being ‘All You Good Good People’, which is a slow chugger with full-on sound, and a trio of harmonies on the go. The triple vocal delivery is arguably a trademark of the Embrace sound and this gives ‘All You Good Good People’ the feel and energy of the latter stages of the Beatles. Already there are many fans with their arms raised aloft, and I wouldn’t mind betting that many fans here this evening have already witnessed at least one previous gig on this tour, especially as many are singing along! The triple vocals are back for ‘Someday’ which is the first of all the tunes performed from 2004’s ‘Out Of Nothing’ album, bar ‘Spell It Out’ which doesn’t get an outing this evening. ‘Someday’ is another rock anthem and the lads are showing us what a musically tight unit they are. I’m standing here watching them, in almost disbelief that local promoters FORM have somehow managed to secure Embrace in such a compact venue. You would have quite reasonably expected the band to have turned up at Brighton Dome!
Another singalong earworm arrives next in the form of ‘Looking As You Are’ which is also from their ‘Out Of Nothing’ album, as is ‘Wish ‘Em All Away’ which sees Danny on harmonica for the only time this evening. After the tune’s conclusion brother Rick (Richard) takes the mickey noting that Danny has already safely returned the harmonica to its rightful place. Danny bounces back stating that it’s so he knows exactly where it is….ahhh brotherly love! He then tells us punters that the next tune, ‘Keeping’, also found on their ‘Out Of Nothing’ album is drummer Mike’s favourite Embrace tune. This to me has the feel of a slightly more in depth song which, dare I say, Take That, might have penned…moving on…
There’s a big upturn with the arrival of ‘No Use Crying’ which is the first of two in a row from their 2006 ‘This New Day’ album. This one is more typical of that Embrace sound with added hints of U2. ‘Nature’s Law’ with its decent keys intro, is next and Danny tells us that it is to date the band’s biggest hit single, with it reaching No.2 in the Official UK Singles Chart and No.1 in the Scottish Chart. Prior to the start of ‘A Glorious Day’ (from ‘Out Of Nothing’), we are instructed by Danny to get our mobile phones out and turn the torches on and hold our arms aloft and then to go “whoah whoah” at the relevant points. Suddenly Christmas has come early! The title tune of ‘Out Of Nothing’ is their next offering and the solo keys intro has the feel of something like John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’. This song begins as a slowie ballad and then explodes half-way through and features some fabulous screeching guitar action from Rick, who pays the price for his efforts and breaks no less than two strings! Luckily he has been flitting between two guitars all night, so it’s not an emergency, although Danny flags this up by jokingly stating it’s costing them a fortune in strings! During the last minutes of this song, Danny stood motionless with his head down and eyes closed as his four mates seriously rocked on out! I’m sure many fans present would suggest this song as one of this evening’s high points.
The first of two songs tonight found on 2014’s ‘Embrace’ album came next, this being ‘Refugees’ which really caught me unawares right from the start as it began with an almost ‘Born Slippy’ booming electronic backbeat, via the synth and bass drum action! I was very happy to hear this track, as it’s more synthy to begin with, prior to it getting rocky in a powerful U2 kinda way. Interestingly, Rick is on lead vocals for this track, and Danny vacates the stage for most of the tune, but returns and demands we “put our hands in the air”, and of course nearly everyone does. Without a shadow of a doubt, for me, this very euphoric composition is bar by the best number thus far! After this, that trademark Embrace sound is reestablished with the arrival of ‘We Are It’, which is the sole cut lifted from 2022’s ‘How To Be A Person Like Other People’ album.
Danny now introduces a guest to the stage, this being Nicole who is one-half of EEVAH, the other half being her husband Richard who is already on stage! Nicole shares vocal duties with Danny during ‘Never’ which is found on Embrace’s 2018 ‘Love Is A Basic Need’ album. After the track has finished, Richard informs us that the couple will be heading out on tour (with a drummer) in March. Oh great, I think, I need to check them out, but then I find out that there are 8 gigs booked without a single one being anywhere in Sussex! Well that’s not ideal really! The gig dates and tickets can be found HERE.
When I saw Embrace in Cardiff, the one song that seriously hooked me and one I couldn’t get out of my head for weeks afterwards was ‘Gravity’ which was quite possibly the best tune I heard that whole night. This can be found on their ‘Out Of Nothing’ album, but was actually written by Coldplay and they dropped their own version on the B-Side of their Kraftwerk inspired ‘Talk’ single a few months later in 2005. For me the Embrace version is MUCH better than the Coldplay one and tonight it’s the next song to be played. It’s simply epic and equally as good as ‘Refugees’. After this, Danny says “I expect you all to jump” and they perform yet another earworm singalong anthem, this time being ‘Ashes’ (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’) and indeed many did jump and the atmosphere in the room was great! Danny too picked up on this and said at the tune’s conclusion “Thank you, I really enjoyed that!”. The quintet then vacated the stage.
We are given a four song encore, but prior to this their merch is plugged which included personalised drum skins, which I had already checked out prior to their performance. The one I could see was a decent purchase for any true Embrace fan and £50 well spent. I noted their yellow splatter album on offer too, which looked rather cool. The lads then set off on ‘Protection’ which Danny tells us is from their ‘Embrace’ album which itself is celebrating its tenth anniversary. The trio of vocals are in action again and drummer Mike flitted between his Roland drum pads and his drumkit for this track. This was another set highlight for me, on account of the drumpads sounding not too unlike New Order’s epic ‘Blue Monday’.
Before the next number Danny tells the punters that he is shortly heading off on a solo spoken word tour where he will be discussing his 30 years in Embrace and answering your questions, signing stuff etc. He has also put together an exclusive book especially for the tour. The only date in Sussex will be taking place in Worthing at The Factory Live on Tuesday 17th December. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased HERE.
‘Come Back To What You Know’ from 1998’s ‘The Good Will Out’ album is up next and it’s clearly a fan favourite with many singing along. ‘Near Life’ from ‘Out Of Nothing’ is next and this live version had a feel of first half 1970’s David Bowie about it, but with many layers on top. The quintet signed off with the title track of 1998’s ‘The Good Will Out’ album, which is a slowish song which has the Roland keys sounding very much like a piano. There were plenty of opportunities for the fans to sing the “la la la la” chorus parts. For me, not the best number to end on, but I see why they chose it, because of the crowd participation. It was now 9:45pm and that was our lot, Danny said “Thank you very much we really enjoyed that one” and I honestly believe the whole band did. As he had said mid-set that, this tour was possibly his favourite thus far and all the band are really getting on and there’s a vibe of an upward journey again, you know I think he might be correct! A great night out!
Embrace:
Danny McNamara – lead vocals, harmonica
Richard McNamara – lead guitar, backing and lead vocals
Steve Firth – bass guitar
Mickey Dale – keyboards, backing vocals
Michael Heaton – drums
Embrace setlist:
‘All You Good Good People’ (from 1998 ‘The Good Will Out’ album)
‘Someday’ (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album)
‘Looking As You Are’ (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album)
‘Wish ‘Em All Away’ (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album)
‘Keeping’ (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album)
‘No Use Crying’ (from 2006 ‘This New Day’ album)
‘Nature’s Law’ (from 2006 ‘This New Day’ album)
‘A Glorious Day’ (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album)
‘Out Of Nothing’ (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album)
‘Refugees’ (from 2014 ‘Embrace’ album)
‘We Are It’ (from 2022 ‘How To Be A Person Like Other People’ album)
‘Never’ (with EEVAH) (from 2018 ‘Love Is A Basic Need’ album)
‘Gravity’ (Coldplay cover) (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album)
‘Ashes’ (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album)
(encore)
‘Protection’ (from 2014 ‘Embrace’ album)
‘Come Back To What You Know’ (from 1998 ‘The Good Will Out’ album)
‘Near Life’ (from 2004 ‘Out Of Nothing’ album)
‘The Good Will Out’ (from 1998 ‘The Good Will Out’ album)
Embrace have given seven different artists the support slot for different nights of their 13 date UK tour. Their selection for this evening is a Post-Modern Grunge outfit from Leeds going by the name of Slow Team, who have been active post covid and will also be supporting them in two days time in Norwich. They are a quartet composed of (from our left to right) Max Lilley (guitar, vocals, synth), Morgan Lindley (bass, vocals, synth), new boy Rhys O’Malley who is playing drums for only the second time with the band, and Lucy Tessier (vocals, tambourine, guitar).
This evening we are rewarded 7 choice cuts in their 34 minute set which ran from 6:56pm until 7:30pm. The lighting is minimal and atmospheric as the band commence with opener ‘What Do We Really Need’ which sees the outfit slowly build this as yet to be recorded track and it grows in its intensity and is a good indication of what’s to come. It’s a promising start! Sadly at this point in time the venue is relatively sparse as folk endeavour to get to Pool Valley from work. Morgan informs us that it’s their first time in Brighton, and I for one, hope it’s not their last!
Selection two is their 2024 ‘A Lover’s Mind’ single, which is another slow building composition, although drummer Rhys is chomping at the bit and eager to get going earlier than he should on a couple of occasions, but hey as Max states at the end it’s character building stuff! We could see they were trying their best, and to be honest, it can be quite refreshing sometimes when a band messes up! ‘A Lover’s Mind’ was another powerful offering though and I particularly enjoyed Morgan’s bass shaking in order to create an echo effect. Tune three was ‘If This Is To End Your Life’ which is currently unreleased and this sees Lucy strap on a guitar and Max switched from his guitar to keys. As the track begins, I get the thought that Lucy’s vocals are sounding quite like Tracy Thorn’s of Everything But The Girl, but then the track gets heavier with a full-on sound and they move off into other territory.
Selection four is another unreleased song, this is called ‘Quicker’ and is thus far their most urgent composition. It kicks off with some durty phat keys from Max, decent metronomic drumming from Rhys, and deep bass guitar sounds from Morgan. Lucy is vocally sounding not too far off Dolores O’Riordan from The Cranberries at this point and it’s clear that as folk flock into the venue, Slow Team are earning new fans with every passing minute. Again there are “technical issues” during this number as the band refer to them as, which translates as Rhys not quite totally knowing every exact drumbeat, but it really doesn’t matter, as the band are sounding great to us! Next, they introduce their last single release which is ‘Snake Melons’ and for this Morgan heads on over to the keyboard to play some notes and also remains on bass for the other parts of the song. Meanwhile, Lucy frees herself up from her position on stage left, our right and takes centre stage, and suddenly the band chemistry is more cohesive. Once again, this starts as a slowie, but builds until they rock on out at the end!
Their penultimate track is the unusually titled ‘Claamp:Skwrm’ which is another unreleased number and this begins with a tingling guitar intro until Rhys lets loose on the drumkit and the others follow suit. This tune bounces along nicely and suddenly American rock band Evanescence springs to mind. They bid us farewell with last year’s ‘Match Point’ single, which is I guess slower than recent tunes, but then this truly exploded into action and suddenly Lucy’s vocals are so powerful, that I feel this is exactly what they have been working towards for the whole set. Overall, their sound is genuinely powerful and I hope that they make a swift return to Brighton early next year! I can think of two or three local promoters, who, if they heard Slow Team, would invite them to play!
Slow Team:
Max Lilley – guitar, vocals, synth
Lucy Tessier – vocals, tambourine, guitar
Morgan Lindley – bass, vocals, synth
Rhys O’Malley – drums
Slow Team setlist:
‘What Do We Really Need’ (unreleased)
‘A Lover’s Mind’ ( a 2024 single)
‘If This Is To End Your Life’ (unreleased)
‘Quicker’ (unreleased)
‘Snake Melons’ (a 2024 single)
‘Claamp:Skwrm’ (unreleased)
‘Match Point’ (a 2023 single)
