Sleeping Beauty - Embrace
(Attaboy/TMC)

There are records, and then there are records. Petter Seander, one of the two Sleeping Beauties, said it himself in a recent interview "There are lots of bands, especially in this British punk/rock-hype that's going on right now, that initally makes me go 'Fuck yeah!'. But when you listen to the record for the fith time everyting just sounds the same." After listening to "Embrace" for the fifth time, everything definitely don't sound the same. On the contrary, "Embrace" needs at least five spins before you're able to penetrate the beautiful thing that it is. At first sight, Sleeping Beauty comes on like a band with a problem deciding what they actually want to sound like. They mix everying from blues and Americana to easy-listening pop and roots rock. But that's not nessecarily a bad thing - given time, "Embrace" grows on you tremendously. The wide spectra of the songs becomes somewhat of a strength and it keeps you interested. Each song affects the other, the first couple are quite the kick start with grand gestures, where the ballads are genuine ballads, slow and oozing with heart-stricken emotions. As a whole, "Embrace" will take you for quite a ride.
- Christian Stenbacke