There are two ways of looking at Athlete - BW and AW, or before Wires and after Wires.

Anyone who had previously dismissed them as just another average, bland Brit band couldn't help but pay attention when Wires came on the radio. This was a song that commanded attention. The subject matter was darkly different (hospital corridors, a newborn baby, wired-up and critically ill) and packed a startling emotional punch.

As such it was an exciting introduction to Athlete's second album Tourist, which confirmed the band had come of age.

Frontman Joel Pott puts their progression down to experience. "A lot had happened," the singer says. "Me and Tim both had kids. That experience changes you a lot. Carey got married.

"Being away on tour and coming home for only a couple of days at a time really affected us. On the one hand you're loving touring but it's pretty difficult too, being away from family and people you love.

There's a tension there. I think the album reflects that.

"When the first bunch of songs came out," he continues, "we realised they were more personal, more emotive than songs we'd written before, and we were really excited about that. They were lyrically deeper and more mature.

"There's a sense of: 'Here's a snapshot of our lives over the three month period we wrote it.' It's the result of a journey and we felt the word 'tourist' sums up how we felt."

After the success of Vehicles And Animals, the band's Mercury Prizenominated debut, Athlete wanted to push themselves further.

"The first album was quirky pop. And it was good quirky pop," says Joel. "But pop in itself wasn't enough for this record."

Instead, when Joel and his bandmates (bassist Carey Willetts, drummer Stephen Roberts and keyboardist Tim Wanstall) began making plans for their new album in the latter half of 2003, they set themselves two goals. Goal number one was to increase the richness of their music.

"We started playing each other records we love, working out what we appreciated about them and how we could bring that to our music," explains Joel.

They decided they cherished the simplicity of Massive Attack's Mezzanine ("It evokes emotion by not doing very much"), the use of strings on Beck's Sea Change ("They're not just pasted in - there's a point to them") and the whole mood of the Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin ("It's just so big and bold and beautiful").

They also realised how much they liked the balance that Neil Young achieves between a grand sound and a lyrical intimacy, which brought them to goal number two. "We said: 'Let's get more personal on these songs, let's be more honest and open,'" remembers Joel.

Recorded in East Sussex and London and mixed in New York, Tourist was produced by Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Beth Orton).

Bursting with confidence, choruses, soft electro flourishes and epic crescendos, it's blue at times but also beautiful, hopeful and uplifting.

"We started out with the aim of making it rich and honest, and we feel like we've achieved that way beyond our expectations," says Joel. "We wanted this record to have soul," agrees Stephen. "We wanted it to have that ability to move you. And I think it does."

"We put everything we could into this album and it really came together," Tim says. "I honestly think it's taken us to the next level. And I know that in 20 years I'm still going to be massively proud of it."

"Supporting U2 this summer had a big impact," says Joel. "It's not the kind of music I usually listen to but it really hit me when I saw them. Their songs completely get you in the guts. They were amazing.

"At the end of the day the aim is to come out with something that is really creative and forward thinking but still holds weight and connects with people."

Gemma Hayes will support Athlete.

In 2003 Gemma Hayes was everywhere you looked - in magazines, at festivals, in venues across the country - singing songs from her luminous debut album.

If you were a fan, Night On My Side was one of those albums so addictive it never came off the turntable, a record that made you want to curl up in a cosy corner, listen and dream.

And live, the intimacy of her songs was deliciously distorted with the addition of a full band prone to rocking in and out in all the right places.

At that point, the 26-year-old lass from Tipperary was riding high on success. But by the end of the year, she found herself exhausted.

"I toured for so long I was really, really tired," she says. "I think I did 160 gigs that year.

"I wanted to keep on going but our budget ran out. I had to stop and when I finally did, I was exhausted. I didn't actually realise just how exhausted I was until I sat down. I physically fell apart, it was very strange."

Gemma then stumbled into an uncomfortable, creatively-barren patch that lasted for over a year.

"I was sick of it - sick of music, sick of hearing my own voice. I just didn't feel like picking up my guitar. Anything I wrote was crap," she laughs.

Source, her record label, were understandably worried but "super patient," she says. "They said they'd rather have a 'late great' second album than an 'on time mediocre one'."

Gemma says she knew her creative block wasn't going to last forever. As soon as she stopped trying and gave herself a break, the songs started to come, one by one. And new album The Roads Don't Love You is well worth the wait.

Gemma went to Los Angeles to record the album, drawing up a wish list of musicians to work with including PJ Harvey's electric guitar player, Josh Klinghoffer.

"Initially I'd planned to go to New York, but LA kept coming up in conversation. People kept talking about it and I had some friends over there.

"At first I didn't like it, I was really intimidated by it. There's no centre, not a lot of pedestrianised areas, noone on the street. But once you break through the cold exterior and get to know people it's a wacky, intense, silly, wonderful place to be," she says.

"I found focus out there. I think the first album took the listener down several different roads at once - rock, pop, folk, spacey. But the new album is more focused. It's upbeat, acoustic band music.

"The third album," she continues, "is going to be all acoustic and raw."

Sounds like the girl is back.

Starts 7.30pm, tickets cost £16. Call 0870 900 9100.