Athlete - Vehicles & Animals

Athlete
Vehicles & Animals
Astralwerks
Grade: A-

Though some have called Athlete the Beta Band's little brothers, Vehicles & Animals kicks Beta Band's ass 99% of the time. It took a bit for this foursome from South London to find their sound, which is some merger between Pavement, Gomez and the like. The sound push for singer/guitarist Joel Pott, bassist Carey Willetts and drummer Steve Roberts came from the addition of long time friend Tim Wanstall on keyboards. This allowed them to sufficiently add keys and electronics to the slacker rock standard. Scoring producer Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave, PJ Harvey), Athlete went into a London studio and knocked out the twelve track record - along with a bonus track for the U.S. release. Though Athlete's songs are certainly inscribed around Britain, often they sound closer in heart to American alterna-folk and indie rock. This mesh of sounds puts them in the unique position of appealing to the Shins/Sub Pop crowd and the Brit rock crowd. Athlete has already established their popularity in the UK with a top 40 hit with "You Got the Style" - including in both song and video on Vehicles & Animals and a Mercury Music Prize nomination. As with nearly all records there are ups and downs between tracks. Yet, the ups are really fucking high.

The record starts with a familiar introduction on "El Salvador," before moving to the harmony driven British accented verse and chorus - a chorus that has magical appeal. Though "Westside" was one of Athlete's first songs, it pales in comparison to the rest. "Shake Those Windows" has undoubtedly Pavement influences but less on the quirkiness and more on harmony. In a non-flashy way, "Shake Those Windows" shines as one of the best songs here and anywhere. "New Project" begins with piano and vocals as electronics slide into thicken the sound. As mentioned above "You Got the Style" has already set Athlete up in Britain and it easy to see why. With a very contemporary sound, Athlete rock out the quasi-reggae backbeat chorus with a Sting-like flair. The video only adds to the song's enjoyment, whose only critique is that it could be a minute shorter without detracting from the product. Interestingly, "You Got the Style" is actually about the South London race riots of 2001. The title track follows with a sound that echoes an Elton John composition, which is a very good thing. As Pott describes it the song and the cover art is inspired by his nephew and how as a child happiness comes in small packages - namely toys. Pott strums an acoustic guitar and sings solo as "Dungeness" opens up with light drums and bass coming in part of the way. A defining moment on "Dungeness" is the group chorus of "let's go to Dungeness." "You Know" has its Pavement moments but Athlete take it beyond with one of the best sounding and feeling choruses in recent memory. Along with "El Salvador," "Shake Those Windows" and "You Got the Style," "You Know" is a standout number. The UK released version closes on the slow moving, electronic-based "Le Casio." But the U.S. version ends on the short, folksy "A Few Differences." It's nice to see a non-American artist releasing special versions of records in the U.S., as it seems to almost always be the other way around.

With enough PR love and a fair listen, Vehicles & Animals should play very well in the U.S. Though Athlete may get criticized for sounding too much like one band or another, you can't deny the appeal of the record's melodic songs. It may be derivative, but Athlete have taken all the good and shaken off all the bad.