June 11, 2002
Athlete : You Got The Style
It’s a summertime single with a difference: loping, warm, but not blinded by the sun...
Deptford, south London is the sort of inner city locale more known for its wretched poverty and dodgy pubs than as a breeding ground for effortless, catchy, intelligent pop. Yet that’s precisely what the four Athletes – deceptively regular Joes Joel, Carey, Tim and Steve – have made, out of their neighborhood’s unsettled vibes during long hot summer of 2001, when the race riots in the North suddenly made everyone look at each other funny on Deptford High Street.
Wry, well-observed and blessed with an easy sense of melody, ‘You Got The Style’ suggests a kind of Cockney Pulp who conduct their business in woozy waltz-time. It’s a summertime single with a difference: loping, warm, but not blinded by the sun. Or 'The Sun'.
Kitty Empire
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