Athlete set for US tour

British band Athlete has announced dates for a spring US tour in support of recent album ‘Black Swan.’

It’s the fourth studio album for the quartet of Joel Pott (vocals/guitar), Carey Willetts (bass), Tim Wanstall (keyboards) and Stephen Roberts (drums). Following a split with EMI, and their US offshot Astralwerks, the band now has a stateside deal with New York-based Original Signal Recordings.

Athlete’s sound has varied over the years, from the quirky pop of debut ‘Vehicles & Animals’ to the soaring crescendos and big choruses of its follow-up ‘Tourist.’ Their third album, ‘Beyond the Neighbourhood,’ was a mix of the previous two, also showing the first signs of the synths that would later featured on  ‘Superhuman Touch,’ one of the band’s greatest songs to date and the UK lead single of fourth album ‘Black Swan.’

Unfortunately the rest of ‘Black Swan’ was largely a disappointment, a massive but hollow-sounding record made by a band that seemingly had no real direction.

Still, Athlete is worth seeing. They put on a great live show, upping the sound with the addition of touring guitarist Jonny Pilcher of Weevil. 

California band Carney will provide support for all shows, except for Los Angeles June 21st, Chapel Hill June 30st and Pittsburgh July 1st.
 

Athlete will play:
MAY 31    Hoboken NJ – Maxwell’s
JUNE 01   New York NY – Bowery Ballroom
JUNE 02   Cambridge MA -  Middle East Downstairs
JUNE 03   Philadelphia PA – Johnny Brenda’s
JUNE 05   Brooklyn NY – The Bell House
JUNE 06   Vienna VA – Jammin’ Java
JUNE 07   Toronto ONT – Lee’s Palace
JUNE 09   Chicago IL – Double Door
JUNE 10   Minneapolis MN – Triple Rock
JUNE 12   Denver CO – Bluebird Theatre
JUNE 14   Seattle WA – Crocodile Cafe
JUNE 15   Vancouver BC – Venue
JUNE 16   Portland OR – Mississippi Studios
JUNE 17   San Francisco CA – The Independent
JUNE 19   San Diego CA – The Casbah
JUNE 21   Los Angeles CA – Troubadour
JUNE 22   Phoenix AZ – Rhythm Room
JUNE 24   Dallas TX – Cambridge Room @ HOB
JUNE 25   Austin TX – Stubbs Bar-B-Q
JUNE 26   Houston TX – Walters On Washington
JUNE 28   Birmingham AL – WorkPlay Theater
JUNE 29   Atlanta GA – Vinyl
JUNE 30   Chapel Hill NC – Local 506
JULY 01    Pittsburgh PA – Club Cafe

http://www.athlete.mu
http://www.myspace.com/athlete