The Astronauts - Peter Pan Hits the Suburbs
Artist: The Astronauts
Rating: GOOD
Genres: Post-Punk Anarcho-Punk,  Folk Rock,  Punk Rock
Released: 1981
Type: Album
Label: Genius
Link: Bandcamp
The Astronauts were (and are, after close to 30 years and a history of lineup shifts only bested by The Fall) the definitive psych-punk ensemble, though even that title doesn't do 'em justice. Their sound culminates the post '77 punk dabblings of head forbears Twink (his 'Do it 77' single and The Rings' 'I wanna be free' platter), Nik Turner (the outstanding Inner City Unit and the 'punkier' late 70's bits of Hawkwind) and Daevid Allen's planet Gong (with fellow acid-punkers Here and Now) all woven in with an earlier Robert Wyatt / mellow candle-y psych folk vibe... While not sounding like any of those things at all. Get it? The album's range is gigantic: from dissonant punk a la Fall ('Everything stops for baby'), to epic progressive folk ('Protest song', 'Baby sings folk songs'), ditties ('Sod us'), hard-rock ('The Traveller'), pop ('How green was my valley'), garage / surf ('Still Talking'), industrial ('How long is a piece of string'), and set to arrangements that employ synths, flute, saxophone, and strays into progressive or even free-form / psychedelic sections. The icing on the cake is the mature statement of the lyrics, a cynical and bitter exploration of the lives of simple men, miles away from the generic horror / punk overtones that permeated most of alternative albums at the time.
Editions:
1981 Original Release
Genius | Genius 001 | Vinyl, LP
Side A:
A1. Everything Stops for Baby
A2. Protest Song
  A3. Sod Us
  A4. The Traveller
  A5. How Green Was My Valley
Side B:
  B1. Still Talking
  B2. Baby Sings Folk Songs
  B3. How Long is a Piece of String
B4. Amplified World
B5. Midsummer Lullaby