Out of Nothing
Encyclopedia
Out of Nothing is the fourth studio album by English rock
band Embrace. It was released on 13 September 2004 through Independiente Records. It went straight in at number one on the official UK charts, going double platinum, selling more than 600,000 copies in the UK, making it their best selling album and their most critically acclaimed since their debut album The Good Will Out
. It was a much-anticipated release, as Embrace had not released any new material for three years.
, which debuted at number 9 on the UK charts and dropped off completely after three weeks, the band were dropped by their record label, Hut
, in 2002. Though they were almost immediately picked up thereafter by Independiente
, whose founder and managing director, Andy MacDonald, was a long-time fan of the band, Embrace admittedly had a lot of writing and recording to do before they would have enough quality material for a fourth album.
For two years, Embrace wrote and recorded songs on tape, resulting in an immense amount of possible album material, 500 "songs and half-songs" compiled on 52 C90 tapes. In December 2003, after four listening sessions spread over two years, MacDonald finally gave the go-ahead to the band to begin recording for their next album. Later that month, Embrace played three secret gigs as "The Good Good People"
at Leeds' Cockpit in order to "road test" the new material in preparation for recording.
The band brought in Youth
to produce, having had good experiences with his production on singles All You Good Good People
and Come Back to What You Know
from their first album, The Good Will Out
. Most of the band were excited about the effect that bringing new leadership into the studio was having on their music, but Danny McNamara
, the band's lead singer, had a tough time adjusting to Youth
's production style: "January, February and March this year were the hardest time of my life. I was getting four hours sleep a night. Every morning I'd get up and have to take a pill just to stay calm that day. The amount of arguments and throwing shit...It was really intense." Youth
changed McNamara
's song structures, his lyrics, and pushed him to sing with more emotion. Said McNamara
: "There were times I hated him. I'd ring our manager and have meetings with the label, where I'd say, 'Look, can you tell him who's boss? 'Cause he's not listening to me.'" Thankfully, the label kept its position that Youth
was in charge, because gradually, things started to click between the band and its producer. McNamara
eventually changed his tune, saying, "I think I've grown as a person...the idea of relinquishing control and just having a bit of belief and faith in someone else is new to me in my thirty-three years. And it's paid off. I've left my ego at the door." Several songs began to take shape and sound that had previously eluded the band.
Out of the 500 possibilities, the band eventually narrowed the list of potential album cuts down to fifteen songs, and then finally decided on the best ten. These included "Ashes," which started life in 2001 as a piano-driven ballad and eventually took the form of a four-minute long anthem of a pop song, "Someday," whose verse was written in 1997 and waited seven years for the rest of the song to show up, and "Everytime I See Your Face," a song that would never see the light of public release. This was due to the addition of "Gravity," a Coldplay
-penned composition that Chris Martin
(good friend of Danny McNamara
) gifted to Embrace after Martin decided that the song sounded a bit more like Embrace than it did Coldplay
. "Everytime I See Your Face" was dropped from the album, and "Gravity" not only found itself on Out of Nothing but also in the role of comeback single, being Independiente's preferred choice over "Ashes," which had been the album's intended first single before the introduction of "Gravity." Danny McNamara
referred to this decision as the "sexy angle."
The last two songs on the album, "Near Life" and the title track, were Embrace's first attempts at songwriting as a band. The success the band experienced in this process led to their next album, This New Day
, being almost entirely composed of full-band compositions.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Embrace. It was released on 13 September 2004 through Independiente Records. It went straight in at number one on the official UK charts, going double platinum, selling more than 600,000 copies in the UK, making it their best selling album and their most critically acclaimed since their debut album The Good Will Out
The Good Will Out
The Good Will Out is the debut album by English rock band Embrace, first released in 1998 .The album achieved critical acclaim as well as success in terms of sales, going gold on its first day of release, becoming one of the fastest-ever-selling debut albums by a British artist, and going on to...
. It was a much-anticipated release, as Embrace had not released any new material for three years.
Background
After the release of Embrace's third album, 2001's If You've Never BeenIf You've Never Been
If You've Never Been is the third studio album by English rock band Embrace. It was released on 3 September 2001 through Hut. It reached number nine on the official UK charts one year after the band's second album, Drawn from Memory, reached number eight.-Track listing:-Charts:-Personnel:* Danny...
, which debuted at number 9 on the UK charts and dropped off completely after three weeks, the band were dropped by their record label, Hut
Hut Records
VC Recordings trading as Hut Records was a British record label brand which was started in 1990 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Records...
, in 2002. Though they were almost immediately picked up thereafter by Independiente
Independiente Records
Independiente is a record label formed in 1997 after Andy MacDonald sold Go! Discs Records to PolyGram in 1996 for a reported £30 million. In the UK, the label is distributed Vital PIAS....
, whose founder and managing director, Andy MacDonald, was a long-time fan of the band, Embrace admittedly had a lot of writing and recording to do before they would have enough quality material for a fourth album.
For two years, Embrace wrote and recorded songs on tape, resulting in an immense amount of possible album material, 500 "songs and half-songs" compiled on 52 C90 tapes. In December 2003, after four listening sessions spread over two years, MacDonald finally gave the go-ahead to the band to begin recording for their next album. Later that month, Embrace played three secret gigs as "The Good Good People"
All You Good Good People
-EP release:The All You Good Good People EP was released on 27 October 1997 by Hut Records, as the third single from the band's #1 debut album "The Good Will Out"....
at Leeds' Cockpit in order to "road test" the new material in preparation for recording.
The band brought in Youth
Martin Glover
Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is a record producer and a founding member and bassist of the UK band Killing Joke. He is a member of The Fireman along with Paul McCartney. Glover was born in Africa.-Early career:...
to produce, having had good experiences with his production on singles All You Good Good People
All You Good Good People
-EP release:The All You Good Good People EP was released on 27 October 1997 by Hut Records, as the third single from the band's #1 debut album "The Good Will Out"....
and Come Back to What You Know
Come Back to What You Know
The Come Back To What You Know EP was the fourth single from Yorkshire band Embrace's debut album 'The Good Will Out'...
from their first album, The Good Will Out
The Good Will Out
The Good Will Out is the debut album by English rock band Embrace, first released in 1998 .The album achieved critical acclaim as well as success in terms of sales, going gold on its first day of release, becoming one of the fastest-ever-selling debut albums by a British artist, and going on to...
. Most of the band were excited about the effect that bringing new leadership into the studio was having on their music, but Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara is the lead singer of English band Embrace.-Early years:...
, the band's lead singer, had a tough time adjusting to Youth
Martin Glover
Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is a record producer and a founding member and bassist of the UK band Killing Joke. He is a member of The Fireman along with Paul McCartney. Glover was born in Africa.-Early career:...
's production style: "January, February and March this year were the hardest time of my life. I was getting four hours sleep a night. Every morning I'd get up and have to take a pill just to stay calm that day. The amount of arguments and throwing shit...It was really intense." Youth
Martin Glover
Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is a record producer and a founding member and bassist of the UK band Killing Joke. He is a member of The Fireman along with Paul McCartney. Glover was born in Africa.-Early career:...
changed McNamara
Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara is the lead singer of English band Embrace.-Early years:...
's song structures, his lyrics, and pushed him to sing with more emotion. Said McNamara
Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara is the lead singer of English band Embrace.-Early years:...
: "There were times I hated him. I'd ring our manager and have meetings with the label, where I'd say, 'Look, can you tell him who's boss? 'Cause he's not listening to me.'" Thankfully, the label kept its position that Youth
Martin Glover
Martin Glover, also known as Youth, is a record producer and a founding member and bassist of the UK band Killing Joke. He is a member of The Fireman along with Paul McCartney. Glover was born in Africa.-Early career:...
was in charge, because gradually, things started to click between the band and its producer. McNamara
Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara is the lead singer of English band Embrace.-Early years:...
eventually changed his tune, saying, "I think I've grown as a person...the idea of relinquishing control and just having a bit of belief and faith in someone else is new to me in my thirty-three years. And it's paid off. I've left my ego at the door." Several songs began to take shape and sound that had previously eluded the band.
Out of the 500 possibilities, the band eventually narrowed the list of potential album cuts down to fifteen songs, and then finally decided on the best ten. These included "Ashes," which started life in 2001 as a piano-driven ballad and eventually took the form of a four-minute long anthem of a pop song, "Someday," whose verse was written in 1997 and waited seven years for the rest of the song to show up, and "Everytime I See Your Face," a song that would never see the light of public release. This was due to the addition of "Gravity," a Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
-penned composition that Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
(good friend of Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara is the lead singer of English band Embrace.-Early years:...
) gifted to Embrace after Martin decided that the song sounded a bit more like Embrace than it did Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
. "Everytime I See Your Face" was dropped from the album, and "Gravity" not only found itself on Out of Nothing but also in the role of comeback single, being Independiente's preferred choice over "Ashes," which had been the album's intended first single before the introduction of "Gravity." Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara
Danny McNamara is the lead singer of English band Embrace.-Early years:...
referred to this decision as the "sexy angle."
The last two songs on the album, "Near Life" and the title track, were Embrace's first attempts at songwriting as a band. The success the band experienced in this process led to their next album, This New Day
This New Day
This New Day is the fifth album by English rock band Embrace, released 27 March 2006 . It was preceded by the release of the single, "Nature's Law", and went straight to number 1 in the UK Albums Chart. The single and album were enough to earn the band the distinction of performing "World At Your...
, being almost entirely composed of full-band compositions.
Track listing
Charts
| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
1 |