Track Listing

1. El Salvador
2. Westside
3. One Million
4. Shake Those Windows
5. Beautiful
6. New Project
7. You Got The Style
8. Vehicles & Animals
9. Out of Nowhere
10. Dungeness
11. You Know
12. Le Casio

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2097 in Music
• Released on: 2003-08-04
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's a shame that Britpop brings up memories of dull guitar-rock traditionalists stuck in thrall to the spirit of the 60s, because it's very tempting to dub Athlete's debut album, Vehicles and Animals, a minor British pop classic. The work of an East London quartet with a wry observational eye and a sound planted somewhere between Squeeze, XTC and Blur from the time of Modern Life Is Rubbish, Vehicles and Animals is a success of subtle experimentalism, box-twiddling electronic trickery and brightly optimistic pop nous. "You Got the Style" tackles racial unrest in multicultural London with a sunbeam of pure positivity, frontman Joel Pott offering "We should be laughing about it / Making the most of the true British climate" as Tim Wanstall's synth-lines bounce like stray beach balls.

Sure, Athlete specialise in big, neon sing-along choruses--see the glimmering "El Salvador", the sprawling wonder of "Beautiful"--but their approach is tempered with a very pretty vulnerability. "Westside" opens with a hushed acoustic lead-in where Pott's cracked, fragile vocal shakily tests out the chorus--"Wherever you look you can see / Everybody wants to be part of the rock scene"--before the song explodes into life. It's the sort of sunny disposition that could almost define a new British climate. Looks like it's turned out nice again. --Louis Pattison

CD Description
Debut album from South London quartet who've been compared to Pavement, Beck and even Steely Dan. Features the singles 'Beautiful', 'El Salvador' and 'You've Got The Style' mixingcontemporary electronica with classic guitar pop in a similar way to the Beta Band.

Customer Reviews

Unashamedly cheerful, should be available on prescription
Look around the British music rock scene at the moment, and though it's undeniably flourishing, it's all just a little dark. Hail To The Thief, A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Think Tank, Sleeping With Ghosts - all uplifing in their own way, but none of them make you smile stupidly and nod your head and sway with the beat. If you're missing the summer and want to inject some fun into your CD collection, look no further than Athlete.

From the moment you slip the record into the player, and the first slightly distorted drum beats of 'El Salvador' begin to play, you can't help but tap your feet. Ignore the fact that it sounds a lot like Avril Lavigne's 'Complicated', it's better, and happier. And the mood doesn't stop - on single 'Westside', the band even helpfully shout out 'Chorus!' as your cue to start singing. The vocalist Joel Pott's friendly vocal twang complements everything the band play - whether it's skitting hip-hop drum machine on 'One Million' or the brilliantly witty singalong of 'Dungeness'. 'You Got The Style', amazingly about the racial divide, is another fantastic karaoke song, though it manages to be serious as well as great fun.

There are, granted, slower tracks, but not Radiohead or Coldplay slow. 'Shake Those Windows' and 'Beautiful' are stunning, maintaining the easy melodic flow whilst sounding just a little less manically happy. The former has the most instantly likeable chorus I've heard in many years. There are some poignant moments too - 'New Project' for instance, with the lyric 'Imagine this is all you ever had', and the title track, where Pott croons gently along with acoustic guitar, daring you to join him, until the whole band comes in a wonderful coda

Naturally the album has its weaknesses, like 'Out Of Nowhere' - a daft track that just sounds plain weird after the non-stop cheeriness of the whole album. I'm not even sure that the heavy guitar break on 'New Project' was necessary, it always wakes me up when I'm trying to drift off. But these are minor blemishes on an unabashedly happy, bright and summery record that offers something a little different. If you want a walk in the sunshine, or you're driving home on a Friday, put this on, and you'll get home in a defiantly pleasant mood.

Gold medal prospects
Wonderful.

That's how you sum up a debut album with as much life, humour, and originality as this.

The comparisons to Pavement, Beta Band and Coldplay don't really do Vehicles&Animals justice. But that's because Athlete are very hard to describe.

The songs shift direction - one minute classic indie, the next 80's casio, into hip-hop and back home for a rabble-rousing feel good anthem. But this isn't mad experimental schizo-pop, it's a surprising, fun and entertaining approach. And most importantly -it really works.

Stand out tracks include the theremin punctuated New Project, riot-inspired sunshine-filled You Got The Style and the utterly beautiful sing-along You Know.

In the indie music industry currently dominated by garage rock and blues (not that there's anything wrong with that) this is one of the most refreshing alternatives around.

If you don't have a smile on your face after listening to this then there's little hope for you.

The album for every occasion
If you're looking for an album you can play when you're on your own and pick apart instrument by instrument, bar by bar then this is it. If you're looking for an album you can wack on at a party and get everyone dancing then this is it. If you just want some nice background music when some mates are round then this is it. There just isn't another album as versatile as this, and yet it's no jack of all trades, it performs excellently in every setting.

All the tracks are highly melodic with choruses that you'll be singing all day. Somehow the Athlete boys have managed to blend musical genius with a style everyone can enjoy, a very wise commerical move! But while the songs are all brilliantly written and dangerously catchy it's the keys and synth that set this band apart from the rest. It's the most interesting music you'll have heard in a long time, with strange sounds all over the place but used in a way that doesn't make it sound messy or over complicated and you'll never lose sight of that underlying melody that accompanies all the songs. Joel Potts' vocals are just as catchy with the cockny accent being used to full effect and if you're not careful you'll start singing with one after hearing this! My personal favourite track is "Shake those Windows" but this really is an album where 12 different people could have 12 different favourite tracks and they'd all be right. Not one weak track. Brilliant stuff.
You're collection isn't complete without this album, can't wait for the next one.