Embrace - self titled
In between Minor Threat and Fugazi, Ian MacKaye found himself in Embrace. And with Dischord Records re-releasing their catalog on vinyl, I now find myself listening to a crucial part of D.C. Hardcore history. Originally released in ’87, this ’09 repress comes on clear red vinyl with a download coupon for the mp3s. You even get alternate versions of Money and End of a Year with the download (although they’re not actually on the vinyl).
Embrace were one of the bands that made up D.C.’s Revolution Summer movement in 1985. Hardcore kids were growing up and growing weary of a scene that became a haven for violence and intolerance. They answered back with a form of music still rooted in Hardcore but now more open to talking about feelings and emotions. You really get the sense that Ian is just sick and fucking tired of everything around him. He’s tired of the rules, the clicks, the fashion, the lifestyle, the fighting, and the selling out. And you also get the feeling that he feels somehow responsible for most of it. This album serves as a wakeup call to anyone still caught up in the muck and mire of petty scene politics.
Don’t get me wrong, this album in no way is a copout or watered down version of Hardcore. Think Dag Nasty in terms of sound, with Ian lyrically letting everyone around him know exactly what time it is. It’s time for one scene to die and another to start in earnest. “It’s the end of a fucked up year. There’s another one coming. Oh shit!”
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