Astronaut is the eleventh studio album by the English pop rock band Duran Duran, released on 28 September 2004 by Epic Records. It was Duran Duran's first studio album since Pop Trash (2000), and the first (and to date, last) full album since Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983) to be recorded by the most famous five-member lineup of the band (the stand-alone 1985 single "A View to a Kill" was their last studio recording together).
Astronaut received mixed reviews from critics but was nevertheless a commercial success, peaking at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart to become the band's highest-charting album in the UK since Seven and the Ragged Tiger in 1983. The album also peaked at 17 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached the top ten in six other countries.
In 2021, the band signed a deal for the album with BMG (along with Medazzaland, Pop Trash and Red Carpet Massacre) which saw it being re-issued in the UK on various digital platforms.[5]
Astronaut was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 52 based on 17 reviews.[6]
Upon its release, the album was well received by Billboard, stating that "Duran Duran has a new lease on life, sounding more vibrant and exciting than it has in eons".[1] Sarah Pratt in Rolling Stone also positively reviewed the album, describing it as "feel-good pop".[3] Doug Brod in Entertainment Weekly found "Glistening zero-gravity synth-funk that's mostly unembarrassing and at times shockingly vital",[4] while reviews in NME and The Guardian were largely negative.[11] Dorian Lynskey in the latter publication finding "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."[2] Matt Dentler of The Austin Chronicle called the album an "overproduced synth shuffle", going on to say "With too many songs trying too hard, Duranies will still go hungry for quality."[8]
In a review for AllMusic, Andy Kellman wrote: "Even with a handful of forgettable songs beyond that, the album is easily the best one credited to the Duran Duran name since 1993's Wedding Album."[7]
Commercial performance
Astronaut debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number 17 on the US Billboard 200, with similar top-20 debuts elsewhere in the world. Meanwhile, the CD/DVD set debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Music Video chart. The album peaked at number 29 in Japan.[citation needed]
The second single, "What Happens Tomorrow", was released on 18 January 2005 in the US and on 31 January 2005 in the UK.[15][16]
Astronaut has been certified "Gold" in the UK for sales of over 100,000 copies. It was certified Gold in Italy. As of 2008, it had sold around 260,000 copies in the US.[17]
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