Tourist Opening your album with a string-laden ballad is a bold and dangerous move for any Brit-rock band in 2005... especially when your name's not Coldplay. So with soaring strings, pedestrian lyrics and delicate piano lines that we've all heard a hundred times before, 'Chances' certainly doesn't bode well for the rest of 'Tourist'. Thankfully, it gets better. A little.

In a genre where Coldplay's dominance seems absolute and Stereophonics and Starsailor fight for a slice of the limelight, Athlete certainly have a tough act to follow. 'Vehicles and Animals' — their mid-2003 debut produced by Victor van Vugt (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Beth Orton) — garnered them some critical acclaim, including a coveted Mercury Music prize nomination, but not much in the way of widespread fame.

And the reason for that is all-too-evident on the follow-up: 'Tourist'. There are some pretty good songs on the album, don't get me wrong, but absolutely nothing you haven't heard before, and a few which you might not want to hear again.

One of the tracks worth a listen though is the emotive 'Wires', which sees Athlete come close to the soaring magnificence of the bands they're trying to live up to. Singing to his seriously ill child in hospital, it's touching in the emotional scene it manages to create and you can't help but live the moment with lead singer Joel Pott.

It's not all doom and gloom though, and Athlete are on the whole a lot more cheerful than the Coldplays and David Grays of the world. Think Starsailor with less of a rawk 'n roll bent.

The highlight of the album comes after 30-odd minutes of pleasant-enough, if uninspiring, stuff with 'Modern Mafia'. Finally, a track that sets your foot tapping of its own accord! Gone is the overly-fiddly production and hand-wringing melancholy of the previous eight songs; replaced instead by a funky rhythm section coupled nicely with a rocking chorus. The same goes for 'If I Found Out', which keeps it simple and shows off the band as they should be heard; four talented musicians making some very capable Brit-rock.

All in all 'Tourist' makes for pleasant enough listening, but compared to some of the other great rock acts out there at the moment, they're nothing special. Although each song on the album is pretty solid, catchy hooks are few and far between and often-grating electronic production brings the album down in places.

But if you've tired of your Coldplay collection and want something to keep you going until 'X&Y' (their forthcoming album) is released in June, then give 'Tourist' a listen. It's formulaic in parts, trite in others, but when they get it right the results are worth a listen.