Athlete

Vehicles & Animals arrived in 2003 with a lively mixture of guitars, electronic detail and slightly off-centre pop writing. “You Got the Style” and “El Salvador” show a group happy to let an unexpected sound or a rhythmic turn become part of the hook. The production has polish, but there is room for a little strangeness inside it.

Tourist followed in 2005 and brought a broader, more atmospheric approach. “Wires” is the crucial point of contact for many listeners: its vocal carries a specific emotional urgency, while the arrangement gives that urgency space to expand. The group’s move towards bigger choruses did not remove the importance of a small melodic phrase.

Beyond the Neighbourhood in 2007 and Black Swan in 2009 continued the conversation between intimate writing and a wider production canvas. Songs such as “Hurricane” and “Superhuman Touch” offer different balances of rhythmic movement, electronic colour and direct melodic release.

The first two albums make a particularly helpful pair. Vehicles & Animals foregrounds the playful construction; Tourist makes the emotional openness easier to hear. Athlete are most persuasive when neither side entirely takes over. A polished chorus needs the little detail that makes it feel inhabited, just as an unusual sound needs a song to give it a purpose. Listen for the moments when the music opens out and the vocal still sounds close, rather than being swallowed by the view.