Astronaut - Duran Duran
Metascore
52 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 17
  2. Negative: 2 out of 17
  1. Astronaut takes a few songs to warm up, but by the time the band hits naughty dance-floor fillers like "Bedroom Toys" and "Taste the Summer," it feels like 1983 all over again.
  2. Mostly unembarrassing and at times shockingly vital. [15 Oct 2004, p.72]
  3. Revitalizes Duran's early synth-pop magic. [28 Oct 2004, p.103]
  4. Duran Duran has a new lease on life, sounding more vibrant and exciting than it has in eons.
  5. 60
    It's sleek, groomed and genetically engineered to within an inch of sonic perfection, but there's very little that's memorable. [Nov 2004, p.120]
  6. Filled with exhilarating highs and some confounding lows.
  7. 58
    The album's lyrics feature mostly throwaway new-age drivel... and gut-wrenching despondency reduced to bored balladeering. Or just plain silliness. [#13, p.102]
  8. Doesn't life already seem cruelly short? Do you really want to waste any of it ploughing through a new Duran Duran record? [9 Oct 2004, p.56]
  9. At a time when newer acts, from fringe to mainstream, are moving the band's old ideas forward, Duran Duran needs to do more than just mix in the blips and bleeps of contemporary dance music to prove it has something to contribute. [31 Oct 2004]
  10. Even with a handful of forgettable songs... the album is easily the best one credited to the Duran Duran name since 1993's Wedding Album.
  11. Astronaut doesnâ??t come close to ranking with the music that made the band world famous, but it has moments that make it easy to remember why the band rode such a wave to begin with.
  12. Awesomely anodyne, breathtakingly boring and crushingly clichĂ©d, â??Astronautâ? singularly fails to take flight.
  13. 40
    The root of the malaise most surely [lies] in the protracted production, which appears to have sucked the life out of whatever good material there was. [Nov 2004, p.110]
  14. When they strain for sexy modernity... it's as appealing as Mr. Burns writhing round in satin sheets. [Nov 2004, p.119]
  15. With too many songs trying too hard, Duranies will still go hungry for quality.
  16. 30
    The default setting is funk-pop bombast augmented by horribly dated electronica. [Nov 2004, p.128]
  17. Before long, though, Duran Duran are adrift in an unforgiving sea of disco-dad dance-pop, anaemic vocals and lyrics too distressingly awful to repeat in a family newspaper.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 57 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 47
  2. Negative: 1 out of 47
  1. dales
    5
    Half the songs are very catchy with groovin hooks thatll make you dance in true duran fashion. while the other half is just awful. a reunion album that should've been more impressive. Full Review »
  2. Christian
    9
    "Medazzaland" was the album I waited for Duran Duran to make. "Astronaut" is the album I've waited for the original Fab 5 to make. This album surpasses the genius of the first two. I say "Bedroom Toys" and "Point of No Return" make great b-sides. This album is stylish, glossy and confident. It would have been perfect in my view if not for the "b-sides" I mentioned. A classic. Full Review »
  3. FredricsonD.
    6
    Not a bad album, but not really a great album either. I think the novelty of the original line up reuniting to work together, beat out the substance of the album. I know they took a few years to complete the album. I think this may have contributed to the lack of luster for most of the songs. I mean, the songs don't seem to have any real energy or excitement, and are too polished, and over-produced. I hope their next album is more fresh. Full Review »