Tourist (Athlete album)

Tourist
Studio album by Athlete
Released	31 January 2005
Recorded	Autumn 2003–Winter 2004/05
Genre	Indie rock
Length	46:15
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Victor Van Vugt, John Cornfield, Athlete
Athlete chronology
Vehicles & Animals (2003) Tourist (2005) Beyond the Neighbourhood (2007)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	46/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
NME	6/10
Allmusic	[2]
Entertainment.ie	[3]
Pitchfork Media	(3.6/10) [4]
PopMatters	(3/10) [5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

Tourist was the second album by English rock band Athlete, released in January 2005 (see 2005 in British music). For this album, Athlete demonstrate a more mature musical style, creating a more stripped-down, sombre and reflective album than their first album Vehicles & Animals.

The first single from the album, "Wires", became the biggest hit so far for the band when it entered the UK Singles Chart at #4. The album also fared well in the charts, reaching the top of the UK Albums Chart the week it was released, selling 89,000 copies. Despite this success, Tourist had a mixed critical reception, with some suggesting that Athlete had failed to sustain the unique style of their previous album, while others saw the new album as a logical progression from their old sound. Despite the mainstream breakthrough the band achieved with this album, their fanbase was reduced to a mere cult when follow-up Beyond the Neighbourhood became their smallest-seller.

At the end of 2005, Tourist became the 32nd best-selling album of the year in the UK, and "Wires" was the 89th best-selling single.

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.

In 2010, "Chances" was featured in the Doctor Who Series 5 episode, "Vincent and the Doctor".

Track listing

Singles

Release history

References