Black Swan is the fourth and final studio album by English rock band Athlete, released on 24 August 2009 through Fiction Records. After leaving their former label Parlophone, the band members were in a period of financial uncertainty. Following an acoustic tour of the United States supporting Switchfoot, the band made demos with guitar and piano accompaniment. Tom Rothrock was impressed by the demos and was enlisted to produce their next album. Sessions took place at Sunset Sound Recorders and The Embassy, both in Los Angeles, California, and Metropolis and The Neighbourhood, both in London. Black Swan is a pop and stadium rock album that evokes the work of Coldplay. Black Swan received mixed reviews from music critics, some saying that it was a worthy follow-up to its predecessor, while others felt it lacked lyrical substance and unfavourably compared it to Coldplay. It peaked at number 18 in the United Kingdom, as well as charting in Scotland and Switzerland. Of the album's singles, "Superhuman Touch", which was released as its lead single in August 2009, was the most successful, reaching the top 20 in Scotland. A tour of the UK followed, followed by the release of "Black Swan Song" and The Getaway EP in September and November 2009, respectively. They ended the year touring the UK; the album was released in the US in March 2010, where it was promoted with a three-month tour, with support from Carney. Background and recording Athlete released their third studio album Beyond the Neighbourhood in September 2007 through Parlophone; it peaked at number five on the albums chart in the United Kingdom. Out of the album's three singles, "Hurricane" reached the highest at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart. The album was promoted with two tours of the UK and two tours of the United States, one of them with Switchfoot. The band let Parlophone in early 2008 as the label's parent company EMI was being takenover, and as a result, the team behind they was made redundant. Though the band had the chance to stay with the label, they opted to leave after a conversation with a managing director. Bassist Carey Willetts said the band's financial situation was in jeopardy, as on a few occasions they could "only afford to pay our mortgages for another month". When they toured with Switchfoot, they were low on funds that drummer Steven Roberts had to