Athelte have returned with, what I consider, to be a fantastic album. the first release from the album, Wires, is brilliant, co-written with Chris Martin of Coldplay. Although it may be a typical second album, i dont think there is a song that is not worth listening to. The whole album does follow a similar theme but for me at least this theme works.

What an album.

 

This is exactly the kind of mediocre, radio friendly bog-standard indie rock that we should be avoiding. Innovation and originality are totally amiss. You are unlikely to be at any moment suprised by any track

 

First of all, Wires was not co-written by Chris Martin. All the tracks are composed by Athlete.

In my opinion this album is a real grower - first casual comparisons to Coldplay and other MOR indie bands soon give way to appreciation of the unique elements to the sound - the keyboard sounds and parts in particular give this album a very individual edge. A "generic snapshot of current MOR Britrock" this is certainly not.

Sorry, but just to clarify in case anybody has read the above reviews and is umm-ing and ah-ing about what appears to be a difference of opinion: that "snapshot of current MOR indie blandness" thing? - spot on I'm afraid. This is tedious rubbish - if you want something melancholy but just that bit left of centre buy Rufus Wainwright instead.

 

'Vehicles and Animals' was a cracker of a first album, and the Athlete story only gets better with the second album 'Tourist'.
A lot of criticism has been laid at the band for this album, but where that comes from I just fail to understand. "Half Light" and "Wires" are instant classics like "El Salvador" and "You Got The Style" were, and tracks like "Trading Air" and "Modern Mafia" easily match the quality of "Beautiful" and "One Million" from the last album.
Put simply, "Tourist" is the best album available at the moment.

Athlete are one of those strange, yet unfortunately typical aspects of modern popular culture. Here is a band that is neither imaganative, original nor inovative, yet for some reason record companies believe that their uncomplicated sound will make them money through repetition if they are played enough times on the radio. Bands like Athlete are also promoted to the masses as 'Indie, thereby seemingy creating a fictitious 'cool' by using that kind of tag. Just because Athlete use guitars and a piano doesn't make them cool, nor does it make them artistic. Anyone who can't see past this has obviously been duped by the record company and radio stations into believing that Athlete have any more depth than a small puddle. I'm sure Tourist will feature in many dinner parties for the mid thirties who have forgotten what music is all about and are trying to recapture their youth whilst trying to look cool - I'm sure these people also think Black Eyed Peas are 'catchy'. Terrible album, terrible music, Athlete really embody all that is bad with popular music today.
P.S. Wires isn't a 'good' song it is a boring, repetitive and pointless pseudo-sensitive piece of crap. If you value your soul, stay as far away from this as you would with the Spice Girls