Music
Athlete: 'Superhuman Touch'
Released on Monday, Aug 17 2009
Published Thursday, Jul 30 2009, 08:26 BST | By Alex Fletcher | 8 comments
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
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8 Comments
Your Responses
I have to say that the reviewer must have been listening to a completely different album. The lyrical beauty and strength of the melodies in Black Swan are awe inspiring and wonderful.
I couldn't disagree more. The new single from Athlete is completely inspired. The synth sound is amazing and the tune uplifting. It is indeed a great song and marks an impressive comeback for Athlete.
superhuman touch has everything it has great vocals,great beat i'm very shore that"black swan" is going to be just as good as the other albums,evern though it is said to be very different! i love this song it is great!
This is a great first single from the new album. Athlete have always been a band that people either get or don't get and sadly never have hit the heights that I think they truly deserve. with catchy melodies and clever lyrics Athlete have written some great tunes but somehow many people just aren't aware of them which is a great shame. I have to say that I think the reviewers thoughts of the new single are a load of tosh. As singles go it does exactly what it's meant to do hooking us with a great singalong chorus. Typical Athlete and one of my fave tracks of the year so far!! Go guys.
well said buckster
slipping of the radar? true. why? because radio 1 cant fit this (great track) in to their playlist while guff like scouting for girls is churned out 3 times in a working day. the way beyond the neighbourhood was promoted by the record company was a joke, especially after the success of tourist. this band have , in most honesty, have been plain unlucky. they are better than snow patrol and keane by far. they may be gone after this album, but they will not be forgotton by me, and the hundreds of thousands who bought the records, went to gigs and cheered them on the main stages of the biggest festivals in britain. cmon the athlete!
I have to disagree. After seeing Athlete live on various occasions, they are anything but on a steady downturn. Being slightly to the left of the middle of the mainstream market has given them the opportunity to experiment in the direction that they want to go into rather than try and sound like everyone else in the marketplace and the effects of this showed with the recording of their third album in their own studio. Hopefully the move to Fiction Records is going to help the guys find the support bands like this miss out on at bigger labels. I for one cannot wait for Black Swan, the new album. What I've heard so far has been some truly beautiful tracks. Black Swan Song in particular is a very powerful tune.
This reviewer clearly has no idea what he is talking about. Ok, Athlete isn't in the same shadows as Keane right now, but a forgotten band? Come on. This is an uplifting song. This is one of those songs you want to hear on the radio at work to keep ypu upbeat rather than those awful rnb and hip hop which gets me depressed.