Athlete – Beyond the Neighbourhood
This band is possibly a snappier version of The Rakes. With the best album cover artwork I’ve seen this year,I can endorse this album wholeheartedly and would hope that it would reach No 1 pretty soon in the UK,and,on its release in the US on 25/9 it should achieve high chart status there also. These are a London-based band and they already have one Ivor Novello award under their belt from 2006 for their single “Wires.”
My favourite,”The Outsiders” is beautifully produced,with a polished intro and a nice languid vocal.
A high quality song on an album full of quality songs.
The single “Hurricane”,as the title suggests,focuses on the dramatic increase in hurricanes on the
East Coast of America. A big issue indeed and one which is beyond mankind’s control.
“Tokyo” and “Best Not To Think About It” are both good “pop” songs,especially the latter,which has a kind message “It’s best not to think about it,just put your arms around me”.
My overall verdict?An extremely classy piece of work. The Rakes with a cocktail stick.
By Juliet Robertson
