Embrace

Although short-lived, Embrace helped reimagine the artistic possibilities of punk. Formed in 1985 from former members of Minor Threat and the Faith, Embrace built on the forward-looking instrumental work of the Faith, incorporating vocalist Ian MacKaye’s direct and introspective lyrics to create an evocative, vulnerable, and occasionally melancholy style of punk. The group’s passionate performances and their lone, self-titled LP unintentionally inspired the emo subgenre of punk that grew in popularity throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

Drawn from the Sharon Cheslow Punk Flyers collection at the University of Maryland.

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