In Embrya, Maxwell seemed to have tamed those sides of his talent which had surprised everybody in Urban Hang Suite and win over more people with the Unplugged.
The artist promised by his early work to expand the boundaries of what we traditionally understand as modern soul and modern r’n’b. It’s too bad, then, that this album sounds definitely closer to a R’n’B (granted, one that shines brighter than most contemporary r’n’b works) deprived of the soul of Soul which had characterised his previous work. If you open the booklet, you’ll be surprised to find some interesting poetry in the lyrics. If you haven’t noticed it before, it’s because the lyrics aren’t highlighted in the songs. The singing is more even and distant than in Urban Hang Suite and the Unplugged, which is a shame as its poetry could have been more music to our ears if Maxwell’s voice and singing abilities had been a little more present, a little more turned towards emotion and less towards a melodious perfection. As Embrya demonstrates, Maxwell’s best performance is incontestably live for this is the one place where he lets his voice truly shine.
In terms of sound quality, he certainly doesn’t let us down and may even, to those with a more r’n’b ear, take it a step further. That is, the emphasis on studio sounds allows each track to run more smoothly and, thus, demands less “get-use-to” than in Urban.
Embrya displays very good sounds, a lot of melody, but this is precisely its main drawback. The music is of quality but often too dragged on to be truly appreciated. What’s more, if the sounds seem more reworked than in his previous work, they are not necessarily more inventive (except perhaps in “Arroz con Pollo” and “Submerge”). Clearly the results of a long and thorough work in the studio, they are refined, perfected, and purified. As such, they don’t necessarily find a passionate echo in the ear of those who attempt to really listen.
Overall, the tracks lack this little thing which transforms a good sound, good beat, good singing and good lyrics into a whole, a truly good song. They work less as individualised pieces than in Urban. We end up kind of confusing them since each track is pushed to a sound perfection which is not always needed and often takes over the individual potential of the song. Exceptions: “Gestation”, “Luxury”, “Submerge”, and “Eachhour” distinguish themselves from the rest, for these are less oriented towards the showcase of an album and more towards a musical exchange with the public. Their more noticeable singing and rhythm make us wanna sing along; they let us participate.
On the whole, Embrya is less original than the Unplugged and Urban Hang Suite. It would be better “used” as an ambiance album and will be truly good only when it is played at the right time. It’s the kind of album you should listen to when you have the blues, or when you discuss the matters of life with a glass of wine next to your companion, just before bedtime, or if you’re preparing a proper meal and need something to ease the stress. But don’t feed it to your guests or they might fall asleep and sleep like babies.
It’s a shame, then, that Embrya has been too consciously worked on to let the genius which Urban Hang Suite and the Unplugged promised express itself freely and mature properly.
But now, let’s be fair. If Embrya had been anything like Urban Hang Suite, Maxwell would have been accused of doing too much of the same thing. He had no choice but to alter his style a little in order to provide the something new everybody was waiting for after Urban.
As the second studio album of a talented artist who surprised the musical landscape with a new style, Embrya had a strong pressure to live up to. And, indeed, it fulfilled its duty by giving us a still new, still different sound. If it’s not Maxwell’s best, it’s a successful work.
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