Embrace

For those that don't know already, this was the band formed by Ian MacKaye after Minor Threat but before Fugazi. He and members of his brother Alec's old band Faith formed this band around the "Revolution Summer" in the mid-80's. It was basically former teen hardcore punks growing up and in their early 20's. They were disillusioned with the meathead jock types that tookover their scene and they grew up and away from the violence. So, Embrace and many other great bands grew out of this disillusionment (read the book Dance of Days to find out much of the DC music story from the late 70's to the early 00's. ) Rites of Spring were an even greater band in my opinion and the had Guy and Brenden who went on to be in Fugazi with Ian. Anyway, listen to the samples buy this ad Ritea of Spring, Grey Matter and a bunch of others after you buy an read Dance I Days, but buy it on vinyl or Cd from Dischord Records online at Dischord dot com . Enjoy

I don't own it, but heard it today for the first time and I have to say it strikes the perfect balance for me between the two extremes of Ian Mackaye's work. The music is as appealing to me as that of Fugazi and the lyrics as thoughtful, poignant and plainly spoken as Minor Threat. I own almost every Fugazi album, and although it's still fresh to me, I like this more than any of them.

I still have this cassette tape. I got it over 15 years ago after being a Minor Threat/Fugazi fan. Worth Having

This album brings a tear to my eye... It exists among the most beautiful of all human creations. PS - Go to a record store and buy this.

When comparing this album to ANYTHING Fugazi has recorded, it just isn't that good. I own it because I own all things Ian MacKaye, but I never listen to it. It's not that focused and frankly not that good. As for the emo question, yes it is. And that's not a good thing. Early DC emo influenced a lot of crap. If you need an emo fix beyond Fugazi, get "Rites of Spring" first. It's 1/2 of Fugazi instead of 1/4. Does anyone listen to Faith? Void is 10 times better.

It is

...to the music. This album delivers. Dont worry about whether or not this album is emo. I promise you if you have found this album, and just not stumbled upon it by random chance, you will enjoy it. The sound is very raw, albeit well produced, and will have you chanting with Ian after a few listens.

One of Ian Mackaye's best projects. Lyrically I think this album is incredible. Musically this album is groundbreaking and way ahead of its time. Amazing how relevant this album is having come out over 20 years ago. Check out tracks; 1,2,3, to be honest the whole album is just great! in my top 5 of favorite pieces of music.

I've always been a huge fan of Ian Mackaye, and now that I have this, my collection is complete. I am not sure if I like Embrace better then Fugazi, especially since they were so short lived, but anyone who has actually done the research to find out about this album need to give it a listen. Sure, you can hear how this genre pioneered the riffs for the future generation of "Emo," but dont let that turn you away from this group, because if you can put your musical ignorance aside for a moment and just listen to these sounds for what they are, you will NOT be dissapointed. If you like Minor Threat, Fugazi, Teen Idles, or know and respect Mackaye, you should definitley hear Embrace. I loved it, I hope you can too.

To all who say this isn't emo, you have no knowledge of hardcore and the genesis of emo (a.k.a- emotional hardcore). Please, go listen to some Rites of Spring, Dag Nasty, Antioch Arrow, and Mohinder. GET LEARNED!