When Athlete frontman Joel Pott wants inspiration, all he has to do is take an afternoon off.

"It's about looking around you and trying to be inspired creatively," he says. "It is a weird environment being on tour - I can understand why people find it hard to write.

"I spend a lot of time going for a drink in the afternoon by myself. I have lots of little programs on my laptop that are really fun to play around with, and when I'm not really thinking about it I'm writing a song."

The creative juices for the band's third album Beyond The Neighbourhood flowed even more when they built their own studio.

"We made the last two albums with producer Victor Van Vugt who was always saying to us that we should get our own studio and do it ourselves," says Joel.

"He did himself out of a job, really."

Athlete formed in Deptford in 1999.

Joel, bassist Carey Willetts, drummer Stephen Roberts and keyboard player Tim Wanstall had all been friends since they were teenagers.

"It has always been pretty much give and take with the four of us," says Joel. "It is an equal partnership. As soon as I play a song I have written to the guys, it becomes an Athlete song. We share all the decisions, all the arrangements and production."

A lot of the band's positive relationship comes from seeing other bands self-destruct.

"We don't want to argue all the time," says Joel. "We get on each other's nerves a bit sometimes but we want to enjoy what we are doing, so you try to be a little less selfish.

"I know people who are in bands because they make money but they find the lead singer an a*** - and it is not a nice or enjoyable way to live."

After winning an Ivor Novello songwriting award for their single Wires, there was a lot to live up to with the band's third album. They made a conscious effort to keep the atmosphere "up and more playful" compared to their previous, fairly bleak number one album, Tourist.

Among the songs' subjects are environmental issues, on single Hurricane and Airport Disco, set in a world where airports have been turned into nightclubs after flying gets banned.

"There are so many things you can't avoid," says Joel. "What me and my mates talk about are environmental issues. I am flying around the world on 50 aeroplanes a year or whatever, so how does that balance out? What kind of impact can you have as a person? Although you can make personal changes, what kind of impact can you have as opposed to governments and businesses?

"I think you have to be honest and write what is in your heart or your gut, whether it is about relationships or political things."

A dub version of the album is being released later this spring, remixed by Massive Attack collaborator Dan Carey. Beyond Dub Neighbourhood springs from Joel's love of dub music.

"As a band we are into all sorts of different types of music," he says. "I think over the years people will see different sides to us. We have proved that over the past three albums, and I think over the coming years we will probably confuse people even more."

  • Starts 7pm, tickets £16.50. Call 01273 709709.