Athlete

Given the “everybody wants to be part of the rock scene” hook of Athlete’s first single, “Westside,” you’d think the band had written the song about Austin, Texas’ SXSW—the occasion of its second ever performance in America.

Sitting in the lobby of Austin’s Radisson, bassist Carey Willetts corrects this assumption, pointing out, “It was written at the time that Brit-pop was dying and vocal pop and nu-metal were becoming real popular in the UK. We were pretty disillusioned; it was so manufactured and contrived. We wanted to do something more honest.”

But why is it that British bands go pop, while the many American rockers who try to nail a hooky melody are considered sell-outs? “There’s more of a tradition coming out of the UK with Blur and band’s like that,” explains keyboardist Tim Wanstall. “We more or less expect that you’ve got to have that pop sensibility. It’s more important what you do with it, how you produce it, the attitude that comes through it. You see it in more American lo-fi bands these days, like what The Flaming Lips are doing.”

Live on the SXSW stage, Athlete draws a solid midnight crowd, mixing its accessible melodies with smart use of electronic sounds and no small amount of rock-star passion. “It’s based on the four of us playing live,” asserted Willets, “but we rely on triggers and we use loops and a lot of keyboard technology. But it’s us live, it’s gotta have that to have the energy.”