Athlete: 'Superhuman Touch'

About five years ago, while on the hunt for The Next Coldplay, record companies invested a lot of time and money in a succession of ordinary-bloke guitar bands. Keane, Snow Patrol and Athlete were all tipped to follow in Chris Martin and co's footsteps, but while the first two fulfilled their potential to varying degrees, Deptford four-piece Athlete slipped off the radar. Their Mercury nominated debut Vehicles and Animals showed promise and 2005 single 'Wires' troubled the top ten, but their career's been on a steady downturn ever since.

This, the lead single from their upcoming fourth album Black Swan, finds them moving into similar territory as Keane chartered with 'Spiralling'. Featuring a generous helping of electronic production effects and a shameless pop chorus, there's the makings of a great song lurking somewhere in 'Superhuman Touch'. Sadly, Joel Potts's dry vocals and the group's complete lack of pizazz mean that it's lost among a beige blur of guitar chugging and flimsy keyboards. Lacking the creativity or knack for mega-anthems of their rivals, Athlete are in serious danger of being forgotten.


> Click here to watch the 'Superhuman Touch' video