Marathon Men

Due to the wonders of modern technology, Athlete’s Joel is talking to us on his train journey home. Not that astounding, I suppose, but given that this is someone who fronts one of the bands most tipped to do great things in 2005, whose debut album sold a quarter of a million copies and was nominated for the Mercury prize, his ability to sit undisturbed on the 3.10 from London Bridge is something to be marvelled.

Although, with the weight of expectation surrounding second album Tourist being so huge, such days of anonymity may soon be in the past. Was it something the band were aware of while they were recording?
“Not at all,” insists Joel. “We’d already written three songs before Vehicles & Animals really took off so when we came back to make the record we were already aware of what it should feel like and where we were going with it. We didn’t feel any pressure, except maybe a bit that was self-inflicted when we realised that 250,000 people had gone out and bought that first album and we were doing something that was quite different. We started to try and write songs that were somewhere between the two but after a couple of weeks we realised that wasn’t the right way to go, it was just completely contrived.”
There is a marked difference to the second album, with some of the scattershot moments of the first record replaced by a more focused approach. Joel agrees.
“Vehicles & Animals was so eclectic because it was done over a long period of time. You’d have one song that was written in 2001 and one that came two years later. They were all from different times in our lives. With this one, we wanted to keep it as a snapshot and capture the feeling of where we are at the beginning of this year.”
It’s an approach that suits them well. Tourist is an album of huge depth and vision and is set to be one of the year’s best, as is the single that preceded it, the breathtaking ‘Wires’. Was that always the first choice?
“There were a few that were mooted. The obvious thing would have been to have gone with something that was more like the last album but we decided to use a track that was truly indicative of this one and what it sounded like. We wanted people to realise straight away that this was different. We knew that there was something a bit special about the song and we wanted to get it out.”
Part of that special something is the lyric, a heartbreaking yet upbeat examination of a father’s feelings for his premature baby. It’s certainly different from the standard chart fodder.
“I guess so,” replies Joel. “When you write something like that you’re not really thinking about how down to earth it is. Most lyrics are about absolutely nothing at all but from my point of view you just want to be as honest and open as possible as an artist and that just came out. I think it set a precedent lyrically for the rest of the album. The more personal and down to earth the song is the more you can connect with it.”

Athlete bring their Tourist tour to the Spring & Airbrake, Belfast (April 15) and The Ambassador, Dublin (16).