Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Their previous album 'Vehicles And Animals' was a quirky masterpiece introducing the band to a wider audience. The release of 'Tourist' sees them applying for promotion to the Premier League of British bands but the process has them changing musical direction a tad. There was a time when every band wanted to sound like U2, these days bands want to sound like Coldplay! So there are certain aspects of this album that ring those sort of bells and I'm not convinced that the shift into Coldplay territory is the most attractive move. In come strings and pianos, out goes most of the quirkiness that gave their first album its charm. Having said that, play any of these tracks and there's no doubt you're listening to Athlete. And don't get me wrong, this album is good. Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past few months, "Wires" (Joel Pott's recollection of his baby daughter being rushed into intensive care) will already be etched on your brain. Mood-wise, this album feels more miserable than their debut and aside from "Wires" there isn't anything that quite reaches the heights of songs like "El Salvador", "Beautiful" or "You've Got The Style" from the last one. "Half Light" comes close and "If I Found Out" does interesting things blending a gospel choir into the coda of the song. A good album but a disappointment because I was expecting brilliant! Where the last album was adventurous and different, this one is just a little safe.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.

This track data is supplied by the Cross Rhythms CD/DVD review library. Please note that CD tracks may vary according to release region or product version.