Athlete reviewed
Athlete
Beyond The Neighbourhood
(Astralwerks)
Even though it wasn’t cool to like it, there was a sense in the British press Athlete’s debut, Vehicles & Animals, was redeemable because it smacked of fun. It made the reaction to 2005’s Tourist — a backlash from people who were never in their corner to begin with — somewhat improbable.
Appearing: November 10th at Empty Bottle in Chicago.
So in many ways the biggest thrill with Beyond The Neighbourhood is they haven’t listened to their critics and reverted to the role of summertime fun ambassadors. Frontman Joel Pott still exhales with a woke-up-drunk exasperation, but the overall tone is one of import and urgency. Neighbourhood doesn’t sound like anything they’ve already done, but that doesn’t mean it differentiates itself. The album’s latent anger builds through “Hurricane” and “Tokyo,” but eventually drifts into an unfocused malaise where subtle pacing shifts — all midtempo — account for the remaining highlights. “Slow it down, it’s way too fast,” Pott warns in “Second Hand Stores” — strange advice from someone going through life with one foot already on the brake.
— Steve Forstneger
