ARTiST: Athlete
TiTLE: Beyond The Neighbourhood
LABEL: Parlophone
GENRE: Indie
TiME: 45:39 min
SiZE: 64,2 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Aug-31-2007
RELEASE DATE: Sep-03-2007
WEBSiTE: n/a
Track List:
01. In Between 2 States 02:31
02. Hurricane 03:14
03. Tokyo 03:34
04. Airport Disco 05:04
05. It's Not Your Fault 04:18
06. The Outsiders 05:23
07. Flying Over Bus Stops 04:28
08. Second Hand Stores 05:13
09. In The Library 03:05
10. Best Not To Think About It 04:13
11. This Is What I Sound Like 04:36
Release Notes:
To have a change of heart is perfectly normal,
magnificently human. After Rick put his coat over
that puddle, he wasnÆt so much of a jerk anymore.
Dogs canÆt be that bad, just look at the sweater
that one has on! These fictional anecdotes will,
undoubtedly, end up focusing on music. You saw that
coming, I hope. You might have also seen this. I
didnÆt much take to AthleteÆs rehashing of every
piano/coffee shop-rock British band. But IÆm a
forgiving person. And even if I was way more of a,
letÆs say, bastard, Beyond The Neighbourhood would
still be a great album.
ItÆs as if Athlete personally sat down and took
notes on my Tourist review. And really, IÆm
flattered. The repetitive song structures and
reliance on pop-string quartets are gone. Beyond The
Neighbourhood is louder than Tourist, and itÆs much
more pop. Maybe Potts and the boys decided to look
for another niche, since their old one was more like
an extremely popular religion. The change is evident
early, from the catchy, electronic intro (ôIn
Between 2 Statesö) to the dancey and retro single,
ôHurricane.ö The guitars swagger and the track makes
clear why these guys got popular in the first place:
smart accessibility.
ôTokyoö brings even more reliance on big guitars and
arena-sized percussion. Whomever gave Athlete a shot
in the arm should check his dosage. ôAirport Discoö
is more proof I know what IÆm talking about. Athlete
couple a sinister synth pattern with dark riffs to
great effect. The song is slow, but it doesnÆt drag.
The happy medium has been found. Rejoice! ôFlying
Over Bus Stopsö packs the emotion and mood of a
post-rock opera into a pop song. The light,
electronic whirring and PottÆs vocal harmonizing
with a female chorus creates a dreamy sensation.
Sure, I could end this review with details about
acoustic croonfest ôBest Not To Think About.ö Or, I
could rave about the near-perfect inclusion of
violins and piano into closer, ôThis Is What I Sound
Like.ö Those two tracks show just how far this band
has come, and just how smart Athlete is. Instead, I
chose to leave you all with ôSecond Hand Stores.ö
Each segment of AthleteÆs sound blends and reacts,
forming a completely cohesive rock song. The muddy
electronics segue into manly guitar licks and dainty
strings. PottÆs scratchy voice has range unlike any
of the other tracks, easily going from disheveled to
calm. If I spent $15 on Beyond The Neighbourhood and
only ôSecond Hand Storesö was included, I wouldnÆt
be too mad. Embellishment!
I admitted to being a doofus. In fact, I reveled in
it. Like me, hopefully a few of you will change your
mind about ColdplayÆs little brothers (theyÆre
TravisÆ first cousins, too). Beyond The
Neighbourhood is thoughtful rock at itÆs most
luxurious. Athlete have found their place in the
sun, and I couldnÆt be more thrilled.