When Embrace first appeared on the scene at the tail-end of Britpop, they proudly boasted of their intention to be one of the biggest bands in the world. That feels like a long time ago now, though, and in recent years the McNamara brothers have all but dropped off the public's radar screen. Out of Nothing is a credible attempt at a comeback, although its dogged indie-rock sound is nothing we haven't already heard many times before. The single 'Gravity' is an excellent calling card, an impeccably melodic ballad that's written by their celebrity mate, Chris Martin of Coldplay. The rest of the album only occasionally matches that standard, however, and it doesn't help that the over-the-top production tries to turn every song into an unnecessarily bloated epic. So, another half-decent Embrace album - which is probably too little, too late.
