Beyond The Neighbourhood [Athlete]

We've got the nukes, but britain definitely has the music.  Somehow I think we drew the short straw in that respect.

Basic Info:

Album:  Beyond The Neighbourhood

Artist:  Athlete

Release Date:  September 25, 2007

Release Number:  3rd Full Length Album

Track Number:  11 tracks

Album Length:  45:00

Price (Amazon):  $13.98

Genre:  Indie/Brit-Pop

Band Bio:

It never ceases to amaze me what kind of great music shows up on the top-40 lists in Britain.  So much of it is really, really good and would never be taken seriously here in the United States.  This band is no exception.

Their past albums have had a smattering of success in britain, and a small amount of underground appraisal here in the states.  But they're still fairly unheard of on the wider spectrum, which is a real shame.  They have a great sound that is unique without being abrasively original.  Actually, at first glance they might even seem pretty mainstream (especially if you listen to a lot of Brit-pop), but they add enough into their music to make them a definite original.  I suppose their United States counterpart would be The Bravery; both are very accepted in the mainstream musical world, but anyone who bothers to actually go out and buy the album soon realizes that they're much more powerful than the clips you hear from the media.

Band members:

Carey Willets - Bass and Vocals

Joel Pott - Guitar and Vocals

Steve Roberts - Drums and Backup Vocals

Tim Wanstall - Keyboards and Backup Vocals

Johnny Pilcher - Guitar (and the only guy that doesn't sing... what gives?)

Here's a Video!  It's a series of interviews/concert shots of the Band, all relating to this album:

Album:

Easily the most important thing about this album is that it is, technically, Athlete's first true "indie" album, i.e. the first one the produced on their own.  It's a big step for any band that's used to having a slew of producers at their disposal (also saves them a lot of money though!).  I think this brings up a really worthwhile topic though:  Indie rock is HARD TO DO!

Just stop and think about what goes into an indie album.  Not only do they record, mix, layer, synth, dub, etc.... but they still have to write and play it!  The result of putting that many tasks on yourself can often be a really crappy album that sounds like auditory vomit (in recording quality and production, and sometimes, musical content too).  But Athlete has the advantage of experience.  Their two previous albums were obvious influences on this one and if no one had told you, it would be hard to figure out that this wasn't professionally produced based on the end result.

But let's get back to what's important... THE MUSIC!  In fact, I think it's about time I added a new category to differentiate between "album" and "music".  Let's do it!

Music:

The Bravery might be a better comparison than I realized.  There are some definite similarities, though I wouldn't say that they sound quite the same...

One of the most unique things about Athlete is the emphasis they choose to put on different parts of the sound.  For instance, the bass is leveled very high, but in turn it tends to have very simplistic and elegant parts that don't really distract you from the overall sound.  Great keyboard work all throughout too.  It has a nice mix between solid structured chords and fancy frosting on the top of the music.  And then we get to guitar work which is pretty mundane, but honestly, there's very little to be done with a guitar in the way of originality anyway.

They also aren't afraid to bring in new sound, which is always a good thing.  "The Outsiders" features the typical "sad violin" but, though perhaps cliché, it's still done well.  Also, pay attention to the drummer.  As you'll see in the video above (midway through), they have some fun with the drum set and it really comes across great.

Lyrically, cliché.  Nothing special to report.

Ultimately, the music is pretty great.  I'm not sure about the choice of album construction though.  There's a great upbeat beginning and then... it just dies.  Not that the music gets worse, it just looses the drive that's so strong in the beginning.  But maybe that's what they're going for.  It just upsets me because I start to loose interest around "Second Hand Stores" even though it's one of my favourite songs on the album.  And the last track on the album, "This Is What I Sound Like" is just fantastic, but I rarely find myself getting that far through the album before I begin looking through my new cd's for something else...  It's good music, but it could use a bigger hook...

MUSIC VIDEO:

Hurricane

Previews (30 Seconds):

Tokyo
Second Hand Stores
Best Not To Think About It
This Is What I Sound Like

Ratings:

Music:  8.5

Lyrics:  7.1

Originality:  7.4

Bang for your Buck:  7.6

Indie-Cred (Obscurity):  7.1

Total Ranking:  7.54/10

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