After changing their music style from Britpop, Athlete released a self-titled extended play (EP) in early 2002; its lead track "Westside" brought attention from Parlophone and the band joined the label.

When Athlete formed in 2000, their line up consisted of vocalist and guitarist Joel Pott, bassist Carey Willetts, keyboardist Tim Wanstall and drummer Steve Roberts.

[2][3][4] Athlete released a self-titled extended play (EP) on 4 March 2002 through Regal Recordings; its lead track "Westside" received airplay on BBC Radio 1[1][5] and attracted the attention of Parlophone, who signed the band soon after.

[9][10][11] In a review for The Guardian, journalist Alexis Petridis wrote for the majority of the release, "Athlete sound like finalists in a contest to discover Britain's Most Unfashionable Band, mixing Parklife chirpiness with the acid songwriting style of Joe Jackson ... and occasionally throwing in big beat-like rhythms".

[14] Vehicles & Animals opens with "El Salvador", which, according to journalist Gareth Dobson, comes across as a British iteration of Pavement "heading for a quick cuppa in a little cafe with their mates the Super Furry Squeezes".

[13] Pott said "El Salvador" is about the band's first year of being on a label and their uplifting "experiences – from going to a dingy studio before we got signed to suddenly touring around Europe and meeting people who work for us trying to sell our records".

[28] Mikael Wood of Dallas Observer said the artwork "depicts a stairway of trash spiraling toward heaven", alluding to the band's "colorful sound, which cobbles together elements from American and English alt-rock of the past decade".

AllMusic reviewer Ned Raggett said Vehicles & Animals is "perfectly, almost aggressively pleasant" and that it "generally makes for a great listen on a lazy, warm afternoon".

[12] Cross Rhythms founder Tony Cummings praised the "attention-grabbing production" from Vugt as it "bursts of synth, dazzling programming and enough pro-tools wizardry to bring out every wistful note of Joel's poignant vocals".

[24] The staff at Time Out complimented the sound's "unapologetic pop sensibility and [...] knack for creative experimentation", calling the album a "gloriously understated and wonderfully consistent" debut release.

[56] According to Cam Lindsay of Stylus Magazine, the album stands on the "brink of being quite good" but "it just couldn't make it", coming across as a "bad sugar rush".

[10] The staff at Belfast News Letter thought it "show[ed] promise", though if they made another album, they would have to "come up with more of the spine-tingling melodies, catchy hooks and occasional glimpses of rock" that was displayed here.

BBC Music's Dan Tallis stated that there is an array of "electronic trickery, squelchy noises and kooky beats on display" that hold each track "together seamlessly".

[58] The Irish News writer Jason Douglas complimented the experimental nature of the album, and though similar to Gomez, Athlete were "held back by their reliance on odd noises and fuzzy guitars as substitutes for actually doing something new".

[59] No Ripcord's Ben Bollig said by attempting to "mix quirky, quiet electronica with beer-swilling pop, without the two informing each other, Athlete too often fall into a formulaic and predictable model".

[13] The staff at Uncut said the band's "very amiability begins to grate, as does the fact that, for all their diverse influences, Vehicles And Animals is a wearyingly one-dimensional 45 minutes".

Launch writer Ben Gilbert echoed this statement, saying the band are unable to "grasp edge, drama, even depth and soul, with any real nerve, as they plunder a myriad of seemingly incompatible influences".

[55] Maya Singer for Cleveland Scene said the "music dances merrily along that narrow line between catchy and cute, clever and precious, accomplished and unbelievably annoying",[60] which the staff at Daily Mirror similarly agreed with.

[17] Pitchfork contributor Johnny Loftus contrasted this by saying the emotions "conveyed are certainly real, but the organi-tronic flower power flow on display here is hardly unique to Athlete".

[62][67] In 2003, Vehicles & Animals was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, an annual award honouring the year's best albums from the UK that was ultimately won by Boy in Da Corner by Dizzee Rascal.