The Outsiders EP
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''Beyond the Neighbourhood'' is the third studio album by English
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
, released on 3 September 2007 by Parlophone. After touring in support of their second studio album ''
Tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
'' wrapped up by early 2006, the band met up to exchange ideas for new songs. Soon afterwards, they built their own studio in Greenwich, London and opted to produce their next album by themselves. They experimented with beats and did jam sessions; different parts of the album were mixed by Ben H. Allen and
Cenzo Townshend Vincenzo Capellini Townshend (born 28 October 1963) is an English record producer, mixer, and audio engineer, and has worked with artists and bands including the Rolling Stones, a-ha, Kaiser Chiefs, U2, Snow Patrol, Florence and the Machin ...
. The songs on ''Beyond the Neighbourhood'' mixed
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, while the themes tackle topics such as the effects of modern living, war and
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. ''Beyond the Neighbourhood'' received mixed reviews from music critics, some saying that Athlete were unsure of their style, while others lambasted their choice to self-produce it. It peaked at number five in the United Kingdom and number eight in Scotland; the album was certified gold in the UK a few days after its release. Preceded by a three-night residency at the
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in London, "Hurricane" was released as the lead single from the album in August 2007. Two months later, the band went on a tour of the UK, with a small number of shows in the United States right after. "Tokyo" was released as the second single from the album on 19 November 2007. They went on another UK tour in early 2008, followed by a US trek with
Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...
until May 2008. ''The Outsiders'' EP was released the following month.


Background and writing

Athlete released their second studio album ''
Tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
'' in January 2005; it topped the
albums chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
in the United Kingdom. Out of the album's four
singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...
, two of them reached the top 20 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, with "Wires" peaking the highest at number four. The band promoted the album with two tours of the UK and one of the United States. ''Tourist'' sold over half a million copies, surpassing their debut album ''
Vehicles & Animals ''Vehicles & Animals'' is the debut studio album by British rock band Athlete. It was released on 7 April 2003 through Parlophone. After changing their music style from Britpop, Athlete released a self-titled extended play (EP) in early 2002; i ...
'' (2003). In early 2006, the band embarked on a tour of the US with
Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (guitar, keyboards, back ...
. During this time, they consumed
electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
and experimented with the music program
Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
. In April 2006, they began working on their next album by meeting up to show one another the ideas that they had. While it took them a few months to have new material for ''Tourist'' following the release of ''Vehicles & Animals'', the band spent 18 months post-''Tourist'' without working on any songs, making them anxious to return to the studio. They had made ''Tourist'' at residential studios away from their families in London; they decided for the follow-up to work in the city. They located a
storage unit Self storage (a shorthand for "self-service storage," and also known as "device storage") is an industry that renting, rents storage space (such as rooms, lockers, containers, and/or outdoor space), also known as "storage units," to tenants, us ...
on the Greenwich industrial estate in London, which previously served as a mechanic's warehouse, and built their own studio in it. Frontman
Joel Pott Joel Laslett Pott (born 20 January 1979 in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie band Athlete between 2000 and their split in 2013 and a songwriter. Biography While a chil ...
said another reason for making their own studio was because of demos; in the past, around 25% of their demos would be filtered into finished recordings. The band built walls in the space and moved their equipment there. The band made a performance area in the middle of the studio and hooked up a series of microphones and digital interface cables, which would allow them to record jam sessions directly to the Pro Tools software. As a result, this enabled their demos to have more of a live sound to them, which in turn shaped how the album would form. Pott, bassist
Carey Willetts Carey Willetts (born January 1976 in Crewe, Cheshire, England) is an English musician, songwriter and producer. He has released work under the name "Boxes", and was the bassist in the English indie band Athlete, with whom he has won an Ivor Nove ...
and keyboardist Tim Wanstall spent time writing material individually, while drummer Steve Roberts experimented with beats.


Recording

By July 2006, Athlete had recorded five songs. As the members' confidence grew from making these tracks, they decided to forego an outside producer and produce the next album themselves. Their relationship with ''Tourist'' co-producer Victor van Vugt had disintegrated by this point, though they later became friends again. Initial recordings were made to a
click track A click track is a series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings, sometimes for synchronization to a moving image. The click track originated in early sound movies, where optical marks were made on the film to indicate precise timin ...
, which would allow them to synch up the programmed portions later in the process. They recorded songs in separate batches, enabling them to keep their enthusiasm for the project. Two
overhead microphone Overhead microphones are those used in sound recording and live sound reproduction to pick up ambient sounds, transients and the overall blend of instruments. They are used in drum recording to achieve a stereo image of the full drum kit, as w ...
s were used to capture the overall performance of the drum kit, while an additional
mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...
microphone was used for ambience. After the first five songs, they wanted to have a better separation in sound, which was achieved by moving the guitar and bass
amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...
s below the control room. While it did reduce
spill A spill occurs when the contents of something, usually in liquid form, are emptied out onto a surface, person or clothes, often unintentionally. Spill may also refer to: *Oil spill *Chemical spill *Data spill *Leadership spill *Spill (audio), whe ...
, they found the results to be unsatisfactory, forcing them to re-record parts they had already done with this process. Bass parts were then done with a digital interface and
re-amp Re-amping is a process often used in multitrack recording in which a recorded signal is routed back out of the editing environment and run through external processing using effects units and then into a guitar amplifier and a guitar speaker cabin ...
ed later on. Wanstall's piano parts were done on a
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
electric keyboard connected to a digital interface. The band considered re-recording the parts on a piano at Helioscentric, where they had recorded parts of ''Tourist''. As they enjoyed working at their own studio, they instead went out and bought a
Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
upright piano. For some of the tracks, they replaced the keyboard parts with it. A microphone was used to capture the creaking of the piano and the sound of the pedals moving. Though a 24-piece orchestra was employed on ''Tourist'', the band enlisted their friend to do the string parts for the new album. They purposely avoided a clean sound, opting for a rawer tone for the viola, violin and cello, which they did by placing one microphone close and another further away from the instruments. During the sessions, they listened to works from
Iain Archer Iain Archer is a writer, producer and solo artist from Bangor, Northern Ireland. He is a two-time Ivor Novello Award winner, winning the 2004 Album Award – ''Final Straw'' by Snow Patrol and Most Performed Work in 2016 for Grammy nominated ...
, Autechre, Broken Social Scene,
Bernhard Fleischmann Bernhard Fleischmann, born 1975 in Vienna, is an Austrian musician, usually known as B. Fleischmann. Fleischmann started his musical life as a drummer, although he is better known for electronic music. He has released several albums on Morr Mus ...
and
Sufjan Stevens Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...
. They tested flicking switches, closing doors and dropping items in order to alter and
loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...
them into beats. As the band wanted someone to give a new perspective on the songs, they chose "The Outsiders" and set it to various people for mixing to see who would come up with the most impressive mix. Willetts said Ben H. Allen's mix was "exciting and different", removing a drum break and replaced it with a bass part, something he said the band would not have thought of. They liked Allen's experience with hip hop music, such as working with Gnarls Barkley on their album ''
St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' was an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey, that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...
'' (2006), as well as
P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...
and
The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...
They felt the variety of programming and beats, as well the guitars, would be more understood by someone like Allen. The band promptly spent two weeks at
Chung King Studios Chung King Studios was a recording studio that operated in New York City under that name from 1986 to 2015. It was founded by producer John King and engineer Steve Ett with financial backing from the Etches brothers, occupying three different locat ...
, where a number of hip hop albums had been made, in New York City with him in March 2007 as he mixed the rest of the songs. They intentionally wanted it mixed on a Solid State Logic desk to achieve a specific sound, as their previous albums had been mixed on, something that Allen's home studio in Atlanta, Georgia lacked. Willetts said Allen's preference for mixing songs is from the hip hop perspective of: "take more or less everything out apart from kick, snare and bass, so that impact can be made when guitars and keyboards are brought back during choruses". As the band built up songs with guitars, keyboards and pianos, this became a point of contention, resulting in long talks about music and mixing. While the vocals had a "wet" sound during rough mixes, most of the final versions were "dry", affected by slapback reverb, making the vocals appear higher in the mix. By the time Allen had finished mixing the recordings, the album's release date had been delayed till after summer, leaving them more time to alter the songs. They drafted in
Cenzo Townshend Vincenzo Capellini Townshend (born 28 October 1963) is an English record producer, mixer, and audio engineer, and has worked with artists and bands including the Rolling Stones, a-ha, Kaiser Chiefs, U2, Snow Patrol, Florence and the Machin ...
to mix four of the tracks that had more of a live atmosphere, namely "Hurricane", "Tokyo", "Airport Disco" and "Second Hand Stores". John Davis mastered the album at Alchemy Soho in London shortly afterwards.


Composition and lyrics

Musically, the sound of ''Beyond the Neighbourhood'' has been described as
electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
reviewer Marisa Brown wrote that the band "continue to explore the brooding, effected-guitar layering that they had previously done, pushing a little bit into the 'experimental side, incorporating "curvaceous instrumental lines, echoing keyboards, and a bit of electronic percussion". The band stick to their usual style of quiet verse sections, loud chorus sections, while using electronic noises and loops. Discussing influences behind the album, Roberts said they were listening to Canadian acts, such as
Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member S ...
, Broken Social Scene and Stars, and electronic artists like
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
,
Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. Dizze ...
and
DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996. Biography Early years (1989–1995) DJ Sha ...
. Explaining the album's title, Roberts said the "record was written at home, so the songs were looking outside of that hence the 'Beyond. While ''Tourist'' dealt with personal topics, Pott opted to tackle situations worldwide: "There's been stuff going on in the world over the last couple of years that's been pretty mental. How, for example, should I respond to the fact that birds are singing their mating song at the wrong time of year because the weather's so messed up?" As a result, the effects of modern living, war and
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
are themes throughout the album. Willetts said they left two songs off the album, one of which was the "really disturbing" track "Escape" as it "ended up just too dark". Various found sounds can be heard during the songs, which Wanstall attributed to recording around mechanics and carpenters. The album's opening track, the instrumental "In Between 2 States", sets the tone for the rest of the songs as it showcases the band's electronic shift as
Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogw ...
-esque guitars are moved to the wayside. It evoked
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
and the material on their album ''
Kid A ''Kid A'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 2 October 2000 by Parlophone. It was recorded with their producer, Nigel Godrich, in Paris, Copenhagen, Gloucestershire and their hometown of Oxford. After th ...
'' (2001), and was influenced by listening to
Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
and
Múm Múm (stylized in lowercase) () is an Icelandic indietronica band whose music is characterized by soft vocals, electronic glitch beats and effects, and a variety of traditional and unconventional instruments. History The band was formed in 1 ...
. "Hurricane" talks about natural disasters and the rise of
typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
s in the US, while "Tokyo", which was written after visiting the city of the same name, discusses the Human condition. "Airport Disco" proposes converting airports into nightclubs if flying was prohibited. It evolves from a looped electronic section to a guitar-centric refrain. The guitarwork in "It's Not Your Fault" recalled the work of Editors; the original idea for the lyrics came from Willetts and was expanded upon by Pott. "The Outsiders" starts with a hip hop beat, switching a combination of an acoustic guitar and a drum machine. It talks about the eccentricities of being English and ends with a variety of sounds such as stairs, chairs and doors. "Flying Over Bus Stops" is a ballad that begins with a
glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...
, enhanced by ambience and vocals from Marie of Days That Follow. "Second Hand Stores" opens similarly, giving way to a full-band
pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...
sound and the inclusion of a violin. Pott wrote the latter after reading a story where nature goes out of sync with itself. "In the Library" discusses growing older and taking on more responsibilities. "Best Not to Think About It" addresses the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
, being directly influenced by a documentary on the people who jumped from the two towers, where Pott changed this into a metaphor for love. The album's closing track, "This Is What I Sound Like", explores the fallibility of the human race. Pott wrote the song after watching the
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
-directed ''
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
'' (2005): "Not knowing whether you're a good or bad person, or what you're doing is right or wrong".


Release

On 10 June 2007, ''Beyond the Neighbourhood'' was revealed as the album's title, and two days later, it was announced for release in three months' time. "Hurricane" premiered on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
on 2 July 2007, and was posted on their website for free download later that day. Following this, they performed the song on TV for ''
Popworld ''Popworld'' is a British television programme that was broadcast on Channel 4 as part of the T4 strand, featuring pop news, trivia, gossip, interviews and music videos, as well as musical performances from contemporary artists. The show began ...
''. That same month, the band previewed some songs from their forthcoming album at a few warm up shows, leading into a three-night residency at the
KOKO Koko or KOKO may refer to: Animals *Koko (gorilla) (1971–2018), a gorilla trained to communicate in American Sign Language *Koko (dog) (2005–2012), the Australian kelpie in the 2011 film ''Red Dog'' *Koko (horse), an Irish racehorse that won ...
in London. Around this time,
Weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They b ...
guitarist Jonny Pilcher became a touring member of Athele. They knew him from a remix he did of one of their songs; he was later invited to hear them work on material for ''Beyond the Neighbourhood''. His addition to the touring line-up came about from the album having more guitars than the band's prior work. Following this, the album's track listing was posted online. "Hurricane" was released as the lead single from the album, digitally on 13 August and physically on 27 August 2007; the CD version had "Lest We Forget" as its B-side. Two versions were released on 7-inch vinyl records: the first with a dub remix of "Hurricane", and the second with "09/05 Speyside". Any digital versions purchased from the band's website or from Now Play included a video tutorial on how to play the song. Now Play offered videos of artists offering advice on playing tracks, as well as the stories behind them. It made "Hurricane" the first chart-eligible track to include a video tutorial bundle. ''Beyond the Neighbourhood'' was released in the UK on 3 September 2007 through Parlophone, while the US edition was released through
Astralwerks Astralwerks is an American record label primarily focused on electronic music owned by Universal Music Group. Its material is distributed via Capitol Music Group in the United States. The label was founded in 1993 and, in its early years, featur ...
on 25 September 2007. Explaining the long gap between recording finishing and the release of the album, Roberts said their label wanted them to do festivals before they started promoting it. The artwork came about from their friend Stevie G, who was an illustrator; he shared with them some rough concepts he had and they were enamored with the "simple yet classic look he had accomplished". In October 2007, the band embarked on a tour of the UK, which was followed by a short series of US shows in the next month. "Tokyo" was released as the second single from the album on 19 November 2007; the 7-inch vinyl edition had "Accidents Happen" as its B-side. A live EP of recordings from the Koko residency, as well as a standalone acoustic version of "Tokyo", was released around the same time. They closed out the year with shows in Germany and Spain. In January and February 2008, the band went on another tour of the UK. After this, they embarked on a six-week tour of the US from March to May 2008 with Switchfoot, before returning to the UK to appear at the Bowood House and Zoo8 festivals. ''The Outsiders'' EP was released on 23 June 2008, consisting of a radio edit of "The Outsiders", a re-recorded version of "Best Not to Think About It", "Shades On", "Plain English" and an acoustic version of "Flying Over Bus Stops". "Hurricane", "Tokyo" and "The Outsiders" were included on Athlete's first compilation album ''Singles 01–10'' in 2010. That same year, a dub version of most of the tracks from ''Beyond the Neighbourhood'' was released under the title ''Beyond Dub Neighbourhood'', remixed by Dan Carey.


Reception

''Beyond the Neighbourhood'' was met with mixed reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the album received an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 48, based on 14 reviews. ''
Cross Rhythms Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates an FM and online radio station, produces radio shows sent internationally, and its website has resources about contemporary Christian music. Hi ...
'' founder
Tony Cummings Tony Cummings is the founding editor of the magazine '' Cross Rhythms''. Biography Cummings' journalistic career started in 1963. He started a black music fanzine originally called ''Soul'', then ''Soul Music Monthly'', and finally ''Shout'' ...
said it was not a "classic, but on the whole an album which will satisfy those who bought 'Tourist. Brown added that this "kind of thing has been done before ..and reinforces the idea that Athlete are still trying to decide what they want to be". The staff at '' Now'' wrote that album was not the band's "triumph, but with far more rock moments, spacey sounds and well-placed hooks, ..they’ve redeemed themselves a little". ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' contributor Aarik Danielsen noted that while it is "often reflective and introspective," it can switch gears to "become rousing and moving at a moment’s notice". ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' writer David Peschek, on the other hand, said as he listened to the album, "you find yourself spending an awful lot of time asking yourself whether you're feeling anything yet". ''
The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
'' Simon Gurney felt the electronic inclusions were "sadly under utilized on this album", while its "potential is often scuppered, either through Pott’s peculiar vocal tendencies ..or songs that just don’t stand out". Shain Shapiro of ''
Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...
'' echoed a similar sentiment, stating that the band barely "scratch the surface protecting the periphery, as this collection of musical oddities is not odd in the slightest". She added that in the majority of instances, "this forced experimentation sounds just that: forced". ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...
'' writer Chris Whibbs said despite the band labelling it to be a return to the sound of their debut, it "still has the taint of ''Tourist''". '' Pitchfork'' contributor Ian Cohen said with their decision to self-produce, they "indiscriminately tack classy-sounding loops and keyboards onto songs that are even more hermetic and lifeless than before". Jaime Gill of Yahoo! Launch countered this by saying the album "balances its meat and veg indie with enough electronic textures and hip hop beats to (sort of) catch the ear". BBC Music's Helen Groom felt the self-produced direction enabled a "more organic, relaxed sound, as if the band took the time to create something distinctly 'Athlete-y Brown said it was "still very much an album for the mainstream. It's very cleanly produced and nothing ever gets too loud or out of place". ''Beyond the Neighbourhood'' peaked at number five in the UK and number eight in Scotland. It was certified gold by the
British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...
four days after release. "Hurricane" reached number 28 in Scotland and number 31 in the UK. "Tokyo" reached number 41 in Scotland and number 198 in the UK.


Track listing


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Certifications


References


External links


''Beyond the Neighbourhood''
at
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(streamed copy where licensed)
"Hurricane" review
at '' The Skinny'' {{Authority control 2007 albums Athlete (band) albums Parlophone albums