(Five stars)

LAST year was the year for the Indie band, with Franz Ferdinand, Keane and The Killers being rewarded with top five singles and albums.

And they all had something in common: they released their best track when launching their first public onslaught.

Athlete's Singer Joel Pott and co have duly followed suit with their first single "Wires", which is about Pott's recollection of his newborn daughter being rushed into intensive care.

Although the thought-provoking sentimentality makes for an unlikely Indie subject, Wires is poetic and moving and has subsequently stormed the charts.

The remainder of the album is equally heartfelt, contemplative and far more downbeat than their last album.

But the roaring success of their Mercury nominated "Vehicles and Animals" meant Athlete had gone as far as they could in the direction of anthems like "Beautiful" and quirky, light-hearted "Shake those Windows".

However, Tourist is unmistakably Athlete, with Potts distinctively slurping up to each note and creating a string of rich and colourful images, this time relating more specific personal experiences.

Final track "I Love" combines the best components of new and old style Athlete: an acoustic guitar, in a shimmering background, with Joel giving a perfect sense of wellbeing in loving everybody here. Tourist is a masterful evolution.

CS