If You've Never Been

With Embrace's debut, the band was Orson Welles-style excessive. The follow-up, Drawn From Memory, was oversimplified, lacking the grandeur of its predecessor. If You've Never Been was hoped to be a meeting between the two. Embrace's third LP does hit its target, but has lost something along the way. The band's harder edge has been almost totally lost, and while the rock & roll tracks were never the finest moments of their previous releases, they did add some diversity. With these lost, If You've Never Been seems decidedly straightforward and lackluster. The album is not without merit, though. The opening track, "Over," is a superb recording, a definite peak for Embrace. "Wonder" is another fine track, but slightly wishy-washy. The rest of the album is distinctly average. It seems Embrace has yet to find its true sound. ~ Ben Davies