Every year the Mercury Music Prize takes some obscure indie band and gives their profile a welcome shot in the arm. In 2003, it was the turn of Athlete, a quirky but modest outfit from Deptford - when they said it was a thrill just to be nominated, you could see they really meant it. On this follow-up, the quirkiness is gone, replaced by a mournful, big-ballad piano sound that's a little like Coldplay, a lot like Keane and a hell of a lot like Snow Patrol. You could call this a cynical move, but when it's executed as well as it is here, it seems churlish to complain. These are great, sweeping songs with real lyrical and emotional depth - and most importantly, choruses that are just waiting to sung along to by 20,000 fans at this year's summer festivals. Proof, if it were needed, that nice guys don't always finish last.
