*** Athlete. Tourist. REVIEW

*** Athlete. Tourist. REVIEW: B+/A-

I suppose the thing that really struck me about this release was how delayed it was in getting American distribution -- this album I believe was released in January of this year in Europe

This one is actually their second release, after Vehicles and Animals in 2003 -- some reviews have indicated that this one is a big departure from the debut, haven't heard it, so I can't really say

I first heard the single Wires on Virgin internet radio, and was very impressed with its emotional urgency in a very low powered focused package

I guess it can be easy to lose a band like Athlete in the wave of low powered bands coming lately from the UK -- a lot of people have termed this band, much like Keane as another one of the low powered/underpowered Coldplay clones

By low powered I mean that this band really doesn't feature an electric guitar at all ... well not in the conventional sense, where it provides leads or primary rhythm ... it ain't alt rock, but it is interesting low powered pop

I think I need to go track to track on this one ... to get out a review, still out of practice LOL

"Chances" ... this song reminds me of why the comparisons to Coldplay are being bandied about for this album -- this is a big fat UK alt contempo ballad ... simple piano verse, big orchestration in the bridge, the soaring emotional vocals in the chorus ... it certainly is a solid track, I just think they could have strategically picked another one to lead off the CD because of the obvious comparisons that would be made

"Half Light" ... this is a great song, at some point, I suspect it will be a single in the UK ... big pop chorus and a noticeable hook ... it has this neat vocals and flute almost jazzy interplay in the mid section, where its vocal line, flute, vocal line, flute ... like a conversation

"Tourist" ... the title track, this one is, I think, the second single after WIRES ... must admit that I haven't been listening to Virgin since the time change ... what I really like about this one is the lyrics that are telling real life situational stories, all wrapped within a catchy riffy STICK IN YOUR HEAD chorus ... it has this cool clean "just wanna be with you" chorus with claps, acoust guitar strumming .. then fuzzes out the vox towards the big outro --- too many words, I love this track LOL

"Trading Air" ... this one starts out really sparse, a few piano keys and drums ... more mellow goodness, a short "all I want is you" chorus ... the second verse fills with some minimal bass and guitar lines ... the sounds fill in as each minute goes by, it's a unique approach ... thematically feels like how sun rays fill the sky with just a tad more light, until light is on you ... another really cool track

"Wires" ... this is the single, the one that hooked me in ... supposedly a real life song about the lead singer's baby being born prematurely ... love the emotionn of the song that switches from serious to somber to uplifting ... this one is just an awesome pop song, this is my song of the year so far

I had found myself playing songs #2-6 a lot when I got the disc, but then I got hooked on the next one, too

"If I Found Out" ... this one is more of a conventional alt pop song, it's not so much Coldplay and fancy ... this one is just straightforward, verse to big suck you in chorus ... another one that is just screaming to be listened to repeatedly, this one will bob your head ... and then it throws a curve with a soulful bridge that is Sting-ish out to the strumming outro

"Yesterday Threw Everything At Me" ... a song about buying plastic flowers and other everyday things that people tie to relationships LOL ... it has a kind of unique approach to tempo, it seems like your typical emotional low powered UK ballad, then it picks up the drumming tempo mid-song then drops back to ballad pace ... this track is interesting for all the things going around the steady vocals, actually I think it is by design ...because the song goes out with just the vocals and open strumming on an acoustic ... atmospheric and cool

"Street Map" ... is sparse piano ballad goodness with some cool orchestration elements ... one day it's gonna happen, reminds of Morrissey's rhetorical question with the Smiths ... this time, it's not a question, it feels like good things may happen -- I think I've used up my gushy words already LOL

"Modern Mafia" ... this one is a poppy funky one, built around a catchy electric piano line ... it gets a bit big and unwieldly with the fuzzy big hook, I think it went too far -- but the main verse is really as the Brits say, SPOT ON ... a bit mixed

"Twenty Four Hours" ... this one has a choppy feel that initially disorients you, but when it flows into a big poppy ballad hook, you go AHH, I get it ... I really have enjoyed the thematic feel to their music, it's like another layer to appreciate about the music ... another solid track here, this one a little north of five minutes really unfolds nicely ... and the key word is unfold, gotta wait for all of it ... it really is worth it, trust me LOL

"I Love" ... another solid track, very simple guitar ballad ... this one kind of reminded me that there are a few points in the album where they could have been less repetitive lyrically and at times in verses ... it certainly is nitpicky, but it can be noticeable at times

Honestly though, if you want chill, night time music ... this one is really really hard to beat for its mellow goodness, listenability, and coolness -- It was funny, SD and I were listening to it on the way home from the gym last Saturday, and we laughed because it can be kind of trance inducing

I really liked the simplicity of the tracks, the straightforward mostly literal lyrics, with the interesting dynamics of the orchestration and arrangements ... a touch of pop with enough complexity to make it very interesting

Some have called it a more accessible Coldplay ... I think it is a nice starting point to discover the good that is going on in England right now, where the US scene is pretty dead to rights

Highly recommended, I'm not sure where you can get an affordable copy, bought mine at Tower for 13 bucks last week, supposedly a CD only version is coming next week (and that is supposed to be the US edition)

Our grade: B+/A- ... you can listen to it now, or you can listen to it with everyone else a year or two from now, kidding LOL

Little bit about the extra DVD:

There's an interesting version of Tourist live on the DVD ... seems like it might be an early version, with slightly different lyrical parts ... very well filmed, good dynamic feel to it

The DVD Wires live performance kind of has a washed out, grainy live music video look rather than live performance look, if that makes sense LOL ... this performance is a bit more matter of fact, nothing that extraordinary about it ... audience seems really subdued too

There are also four DVD audio live tracks ... in an interesting feature, a slide show of band photos plays while you play them, low tech but cool ... actually if you watch it for a while, it loops the same photos ... the live tracks are New Project, Vehicles and Animals, You Got the Style, and Shake Those Windows of the debut album Vehicles and Animals ... and they are good ones

Documentary is short, to the point ... and like I said, I really liked that Abbey Road portion of it, that's fricking neat

And of course, the Wires video ... actually watched an extra DVD, pretty proud of myself LOL