Review by Dan:

I bought Athlete’s debut, “Vehicles & Animals” on a friend’s recommendation, without having heard any of their material. I was pleasantly surprised, and could see how the album received a 2003 Mercury Music Prize nomination. The album displays a lot of contrasts – you listen to “Westside” for 90 seconds, and suddenly Stephen Roberts beats his drum sticks together and the quartet are off on a completely different tangent. “Beautiful” is full of changes in sound, displaying sing-a-long qualities in one piece, and stuttering guitars in another. However, the contrasts work and the music is simple, considered, urban, street-vibe pop. So just sit back with a beer and chill out – you don’t have to think about the music because Athlete have done the thinking for you.