2002's 'Vehicles and Animals' sold a quarter of a million records. It was nominated for a Mercury Music Prize. It yielded anthemic delight after anthemic delight. It was in equal parts upbeat, delightful and funny. It was loved by V-visiting, lager-loving lads-about-town. It was rapturously received by teenage girls, by university students, by office workers, by dads, by drivers... Even the critics sung its praises. Not surprising then that it took Athlete nigh on three years to muster the confidence to provide the masses with what they so hungrily anticipated; album number two, 'Tourist' finally hits the shelves today, and presumably, on the back of that anticipation and a massive single, will give the album chart a good seeing-to this weekend.

Have Joel Potts and his harmonizing cronies delivered the goods? Well, it depends whether or not you're willing and able to throw away expectations and look at Athlete in a whole new light. This album is not packed to the brim with upbeat pub anthems; there is no "El Salvador". This album is not funny; there is no "Out of Nowhere". Instead, Athlete have held out in their hands an album that tugs on the heart strings with huge chords and booming drums, with killer choruses dying for emotive festival singalongs and with hearts on sleeves with every lyric.

Opener 'Chances' sets the scene. A woeful piano intro... Joel's oh-so-frank and sincere voice laying it all on the line... the strings... the build up... the pause... the soaring vocals... the breakdown... the repeat... the bigger build up... the longer pause... the oh-my-god there's-so-much-emotion-I-can't-quite-handle-it chorus... The second track 'Half Light' is a variation on a theme... and it goes on in a similar vein throughout the rest of the 11 tracks.

Following a formula that could be patented by the likes of Keane, Athlete have instant mum-pleasers and instant chart successes. Has someone actually written a book of rules for this sort of thing? It's the kind of music that's pleasing but not good. 'Wires', the bizarre choice of single (lyrics so deeply personal that it feels like a huge and uncomfortable invasion of privacy similar to the feeling of being in the room at the time of a phone-call delivering tragic news to someone you barely know...), 'Twenty Four Hours', and the above-ripped apart 'Chances' and 'Half Light' stand out as the high points amongst disappointers 'Tourist', 'If I Found Out', 'Modern Mafia' and 'Trading Air.' These downers are as bland as a dinner date with Tom Chaplin and feel like time-wasting insults.

I can’t help but feel that Athlete have fobbed us off just a wee bit. Capable of so much more, Athlete have joined the ranks of M.O.R. pleasers instead of keeping their place with the forerunners of cool and original pop. 'Tourist' is half-empty and ordinary, a far-cry from Athlete's far superior debut. Can we keep the handful of decent tracks, send 'em back to the studio with a stern 'could do better' report, and forget this blip in what was looking to be an extremely triumphant musical venture?

25th January, 2005 (Parlophone)