Embrace was a short-lived post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., led by Ian MacKaye. It was MacKaye’s first major musical project after the breakup of Minor Threat, and also contained ¾ of another legendary D.C. punk band, The Faith (ironically fronted by MacKaye’s younger brother Alex!): guitarist Michael Hampton, bassist Chris Bald and drummer Ivor Hansen. While they played many shows between 1985 and 1986, unresolved tensions between the three former Faith members are said to have led to the band’s sudden demise. As MacKaye later put it, “I basically joined a band with a giant bomb strapped to its chest. But the desire to be in a band was so great that we basically ignored the bomb.” Their lone album, released posthumously in 1987, documents two demo sessions the band recorded during the “Revolution Summer” period that brought about the expansion and growth in the D.C. independent music scene in the mid-80’s.