TWO years ago, amid over-flowing champagne flutes and a cloud of Benson & Hedges, a quiet mumble was beginning to spread among the good and all-powerful of the music industry.

The Mercury Prize nominations for 2003 had just been revealed at a lavish party and, true to form, the art-school thinkers behind that final list for Best Album of the Year had thrown an unexpected gem into the ring - Athlete's majestic debut Vehicles and Animals.

The first question on most people's Monet-drenched lips was 'Just who the hell are Athlete?' Yet, as unfamiliar as Vehicles and Animals was, the melody-crested debut had quietly shifted 250,000 copies, making Athlete one of the new subterranean forces in British indie music.

Two years on and life couldn't be more different for Athlete. Not only have they had to cope with the pressure of penning the dreaded, make-or-break second album, they've also been labelled with the curse-sodden tag of being the new Coldplay. Keyboardist Tim is taking that weighty expectation in his stride.

"We don't find it difficult, the idea of us following a band like Coldplay," he bravely assures. "Everyone writes a reference point for a band, labelling them as 'the new something'. Maybe that's the easiest way of doing it. The new record is a lot closer to Coldplay than our first one, but the danger is we implicate ourselves as trying to be Coldplay when that isn't the case. It's what has come naturally to us in the recording studio," he reasons.

"Despite the success of our first album, we've never been the kind of band who have had a lot of hype," he adds. "In that sense it's great because we still feel like the underdogs and that's a feeling we cherish.

"Our fans have this sense they own something - a secret that they are the only ones who know about us. Maybe that will change if they new album brings us more success."

And that's just what pundits are predicting for Tourist, Athlete's eagerly awaited second album, will bring.

The record was mostly recorded in a residential studio, as the band were keen to distance themselves from the distractions of everyday life. Ultimately though, that time and space proved to be a poison that bled the band's believe in their music.

"We felt we had the boundaries to work with, but recording the album in a residential studio meant we had too much time to question ourselves, like 'Is it too big a jump from the first album?' and 'Maybe we should have some other songs there to bridge the gap?'" explained Tim.

"It was a difficult period, trying to be so calculated. In the end we just thought, this is stupid. We went to New York to mix the songs we had and finally realised we had eight good songs here and that just maybe we needed a couple more to fill the holes.

We told our record company, Parlophone, and they said. 'Go for it, take as long as you need'. That's the great thing about them - they've never pressured us and have been fully behind us. Making the records we wanted. We did another session and that was when Half Light and 24 Hours came about."

At last content with the album. Tim admits he's extremely proud of Tourist.

"In 20 years' time I think I'll look back on it and be really chuffed about what we have achieved. We knew we were putting down something special. There's always that nervous aspect about what will people think, but even if we get a bad response, I will still be proud."

Until then Tim is looking forward to a hectic year of touring, admitting he can't wait to get back on the road.

"We've been away for a year and have just had our heads down writing songs in studio. Right now it's good to get out talking to people and doing gigs. There's a good buzz with the UK tour kicking off and things are exciting. It's a new chapter and we don't know where it will lead us," he buzzes.

What's On reckons down the same yellow brick road as Coldplay.

Athlete play live at the Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms on January 26. Box office 023 9286 3911. New single Wires is out on January 17 and Tourist is released on January 31.