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Sleepy Sun have managed to come up with an album that is beautifully entrancing, and doesn't encourage the listener to go to sleep before the mid point.
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Under The RadarWhile much of Embrace draws on the alchemic power of the jam, most notably the billowing white-noise eruption of 'White Dove,' it's a keen grasp of songwriting nuance that differentiates them from the legions of neo-psych charlatans. [Summer 2009, p.70]
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At times, Embrace can get a little too droning and repetitive, but it's a confident and promising debut.
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Their debut album, Embrace, dispenses its earth-quaking riffage in such carefully measured, perfectly spaced-out rations, it tricks you into thinking the band is much heavier than it actually is.
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So, while this is a terrific rock record, there's still not much here that our dads didn't nod-out to at Bickershaw.
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The technical virtuosity on display on Embrace is something to appreciate, but the delicate balance between their austere and manic moments, the way they bridge hazy folk and psych so frequently, needs a little more refinement.
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Sleepy Sun are at their best when they revel in both light and dark, unleashing throatily riffing guitars to disrupt pastoral interludes.
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As with any album that features epic, largely instrumental tracks, pacing is paramount, and Sleepy Sun does an excellent job breaking up the Goliath tracks with hit-and-runs like Red/Black and with some lovely acoustic numbers.
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FilterDespite the album's wide-armed title and obvious sweet-leafed leanings, these may not be the kind of people you want to party with. [Spring 2009, p.102]
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Taken as a whole, Embrace is an enjoyable album. It’s predictable in places, at times even a little cliché, but it’s executed competently enough that these qualities are forgivable.
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MojoAt points they're both elegant and, dare we say it, beautiful, so if this is the emperor's new clothes then they're wonderfully cut. [Jul 2009, p.97]
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There is drama in those contrasts, excitement even, but nothing that administers a shot in the arm the way New Age does.
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UncutEmbrace plies its trade with a neat mix of musical proficiency and stylistic flexibility. [Jun 2009, p.93]