Metascore
61

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 16
  2. Negative: 3 out of 16
  1. Out of Nothing is a truly exceptional album.
  2. Whereas before Embrace always harboured that tendency to fuss over minutiae, to pore over every detail with such attention that betrayed self-consciousness, their fourth studio album, Out Of Nothing, finally sees them free of their own fastidiousness.
  3. Out Of Nothing is a wonderfully affecting album that is the band's best to date.
  4. [Shows] a renewed sense of purpose.
  5. Never have they turned in an effort as pretty or economical as Out of Nothing.
  6. Mojo
    70
    Finally, Embrace deliver a poignant and prolonged rush of blood to the head. [Oct 2004, p.116]
  7. Under The Radar
    70
    Maintains the quintet's dramatic style, with emotionally charged, lofty hooks and an uplifting spirit. [#9]
  8. Entertainment Weekly
    67
    A set of bombastic, fist-pumping pop downers for the terminally lovelorn and musically ecstatic. [8 Jul 2005, p.67]
  9. If only Embrace gave us more of the spacey, Mercury Rev-style psychedelia of "Near Life" (sans McNamara's poorly mumbled vocals), it'd be easier to forgive their lack of imagination.
  10. [Their] apathy really detracts from the heartfelt nature of the music, which, produced by the anthemic hand of Youth, is mostly of the passionate, chest-thumping variety.
  11. 60
    Well; it could've been worse.
  12. Although these songs of attempted triumph comprise the band’s strongest material yet, they still lack the originality that will shed them of the “underrated” label they’ve worn for the last decade.
  13. Q Magazine
    50
    In spite of some good songs... the band's urge to be monumental at the expense of their vulnerability is ill-advised. [Oct 2004, p.122]
  14. While their first album had a stirring anthem or two, their songwriting here is both flimsy and overblown, like an empty carrier bag temporarily inflated by a gust of wind.
  15. Out of Nothing is the sound of music being super-sized and stuffed into a happy meal.... Extra large chorus? Check. Grandiose lyrics? Check. Towering instrumentation? Check.
  16. A pompous, painfully tacky string of infomercial rock.
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. JohnE
    Aug 2, 2007
    10
    Incredible music with beautiful lyrics.
  2. LukeDaveyof2LincolnCottagesBrighton
    Apr 10, 2006
    7
    Soup S is an idiot - how can Embrace be a Coldplay knock-off when they came before Coldplay did? And their only song on here that sounds Soup S is an idiot - how can Embrace be a Coldplay knock-off when they came before Coldplay did? And their only song on here that sounds anything like Coldplay, Gravity, was written by Chris Martin - Of Coldplay!!! This album is very decent and there is no way you can justify giving it a bad mark on the basis that it sounds like other bands, because Embrace came before most of those other bands. Full Review »
  3. BillT
    Nov 19, 2005
    10
    Uplifting Stuff