Athlete are one of those bands that have always been on the peripherals of my music spectrum. Although Black Swan is an improvement on the last album with it’s uplifting tone and occasional moments of catchy, encompassing rhythm, it will unfortunately remain there, failing to experiment or deviate from the norm’.
The highlights of the album come in the form of Joel Pott’s soaring, emotive vocals on tracks like Don’t Hold Your Breath and Magical Mistakes. However, a dozen influences that stray too close to their forefathers come through loud and clear detracting attention away from the new material, having you guessing “where have I heard that riff/drum beat before?” The opening bars of the latter, Magical Mistakes are a dead ringer for Radiohead’s 'Weird Fishes’ while Love Come Rescue has a definite air of The Kooks about it with it’s soft acoustic guitars and gentle vocals.
And despite this I can’t say it’s a ‘bad album’ because it does have that quintessential Athlete quality of endearment and emotion, something which has been lost from many similar artists out there. Opening track Superhuman Touch, despite it’s irritating space-age electronics is an enjoyable single.
The Unknown conjures up the feeling that Athlete have listened a little too much to contemporary chart acts like The Twang but aside from a few areas due some constructive criticism, Black Swan is simply “ok.” It won’t be making album of the year nor will it win the band another Ivor Novello award. However, it will please Athlete fans tremendously that they’re back with a far superior album and in the grand scheme of things, if it does it will have succeeded, possibly recapturing some of those that discarded the band after the disappointment of Beyond the Neighbourhood.
Black Swan is released on Fiction on 24th August 2009.
A dozen influences and then you mention that they ripped off The Kooks...a band who were still in nappies when Athlete completed their first album, huh?!
I haven't heard the last Athlete record but I love the first 2 so maybe i'll check this out!
I didn't say they've ripped off the Kooks. That particular track sounds a lot like the slower stuff that the Kooks have done - Oh and you can be influenced by a band/artist as you go along (i.e. of the same era)
Haha oh ok, sorry. As you will see I have altered the star rating up a notch to 3 as it has certainly grown on me listening to it in the car here and there. It's worth getting if you're an Athlete fan. If not, Temper Trap's debut is much much better
Bloodflowerbill wrote: About as welcome as Athlete's foot(an oldie but a goodie), the first single off this is all about leaping onto the 80s bandwagon too...
I haven't heard it but you showed me the awful vocalness of mew....
Just heard the single, what a pile of shit. Everything i liked about them seems to have been watered down...the accent is gone and they've reinvented themselves to the same style that keane did with their last album.
I hope the single isn't one of the best tracks like i've been told...
