Black Swan (album)
| Black Swan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Athlete | ||||
| Released | 24 August 2009 | |||
| Recorded | March–June 2009 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, alternative rock, post-Britpop | |||
| Length | 44:11 + 22:03 (bonus CD) | |||
| Label | Fiction Records | |||
| Producer | Tom Rothrock | |||
| Athlete chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 52/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| Paste | [4] |
| PopMatters | [5] |
| Slant Magazine |  [6] |
Black Swan is the fourth album by English rock band Athlete.[7] released on 24 August 2009 it is their first release with Fiction Records. The album charted in the UK at number 18 on 30 August. The first single lifted from the album, "Superhuman Touch", was released on 17 August 2009 while "The Getaway" is lifted as the first single in the US.[8] "Black Swan Song" proceeded as the second single taken off the record and a UK release of "The Getaway". It was also speculated and mentioned by the band that "Light the Way" was intended for a single release, but was yielded due to the 'Singles:01-10' compilation release.
Joel Pott explained the album title: "We read an article about Nassim Nicholas Taleb and his book The Black Swan. He was saying that our lives are made up of a handful of significant shocks, good or bad. That's exactly how our journey has been over the last six years. We've had lots of unexpected highs and lows, as a band and as people." [9] Black Swan comes from a desire for "getting the songs across as much as we could".
The song "Don't Hold Your Breath" was featured in an episode of Ugly Betty called "Blue On Blue". "The Unknown" was used during the credits of the 2011 film "Soul Surfer".
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Superhuman Touch" | 3:58 |
| 2. | "The Getaway" | 4:32 |
| 3. | "Black Swan Song" | 4:50 |
| 4. | "Don't Hold Your Breath" | 4:34 |
| 5. | "Love Come Rescue" | 2:53 |
| 6. | "Light the Way" | 5:27 |
| 7. | "The Unknown" | 4:44 |
| 8. | "The Awkward Goodbye" | 3:59 |
| 9. | "Magical Mistakes" | 4:43 |
| 10. | "Rubik's Cube" | 4:31 |
| Bonus CD (Deluxe Edition) | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Lucky as Hell" | 0:45 |
| 2. | "Animations" | 3:13 |
| 3. | "Wild Wolves" | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Sky Diver" | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Ordinary Angel" | 3:49 |
| 6. | "Black Swan Song" (acoustic) | 4:55 |
| 7. | "Needle on a Record" | 2:40 |
Charts
Black Swan debuted at number 18 on the official UK albums chart.[10]
| Chart | Providers | Peak position |
Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | BPI | 18 | - |
References
- ↑ "Black Swan by Athlete". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ↑ Leahey, Andrew. "Athlete: Black Swan > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ↑ Dean, Will (14 August 2009). "Athlete: Black Swan". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ↑ Jacobs, Justin (2 March 2010). "Athlete: Black Swan". Paste. Decatur, GA: Wolfgang's Vault. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ↑ Elliott, Richard (3 March 2010). "Athlete: Black Swan". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ↑ Keefe, Jonathan (8 March 2010). "Athlete: Black Swan". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ↑ "New Stuff? Update on label situation?". forums.athlete.mu. Posted: Tue 19 May 2009 4:45 pm.
Hello all I just thought I’d let you know the next album will be called ‘Black Swan’ it’s being mastered as we speak
- ↑ Kremkau, Bryan (8 October 2009). "Athlete releasing The Getaway EP on November 3rd". readjunk.com. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ↑ "Black Swan Song by Athlete". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ↑ "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 5th September 2009". TheOfficialCharts.com. Retrieved 13 October 2011.