The Astronauts - It's All Done By Mirrors

Original Release Date

1983

Release Information

UK LP 1983 (All The Madmen - MAD 5)
Greece CD 1995 (Lazy Dog - LZDCD 805)

Extrovert
1 Seagull Mania 3:05
2 New Dixieland Blues 4:52
3 Gold At The Top 5:09
4 Blood 2:40
5 Typically English Day 2:47
6 Behave Yourself 3:27
Introvert
7 Fatigue 5:25
8 Gothic Rooms 3:20
9 Day To Day 6:39
10 Latin And Greek 2:42
11 It's All Done By Mirrors 3:03
CD Bonus Tracks
12 Big Ben 1:23
13 Moderation Is Boring 4:22
14 Getting Things Done 2:47

Chart Placings

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Reviews & Opinions

TONY D, NME, OCTOBER 1983: No-one's going to complain of The Astronauts holding back in the world-stakes. An average song on this, their first album [sic], unfolds a mini-saga or describes an isolation-tinged scenario with painstakingly effective attention to detail. From Mark Astronaut's lyrical pen comes a woman dreaming of the Dorset coast whilst writing to her former lover ('Seagull Mania'); or the man on the street and his wife living out the final day before nuclear destruction ('Typically English Day'). Carefully drawn, their personalities delicately shaded in - textured is the word. Sung deep in the shadows of irony, these verbose vocals are the framework through which the raw violins and guitars are weaved. Punchy drums keep things alive and alert when wimp-out threatens, which it does too much to be comfortable. However, it's hard not to feel akin to such a loosely anarchic platter. Let it rip!

EBULLITION RECORDS: The Astronauts second album It's All Done By Mirrors was originally released by All the Madmen in 1983 and finally gets reissued on vinyl for the first time. Original copies are now really sought after and on a lot of people's wants lists due to both its scarcity and its status among outsider art, free music and weirdly enough peace punk fans. It's All Done by Mirrors is a stunning collection of explosive pop songs and traditional folk ballads and considered to be the pinnacle of the Astronauts recorded output. It's easy to hear and see why. Musically it's tighter and more focused than on the debut album Peter Pan Hits the Suburbs and lyrically it's on another level. From Mark Astronaut's lyrical pen comes a woman dreaming of the Dorset coast whilst writing to her former lover (Seagull Mania); or the man on the street and his wife living out the final day before nuclear destruction (Typically English Day). Mark Astronaut really should been seen in the same light as Ray Davies from the Kinks with his observations of a time long gone. Three of the tracks feature legendary sax player Lol Coxhill. As with all Astronauts releases - totally under rated yet totally essential.

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Images

UK LP 1983 (All The Madmen - MAD 5). Click here for more

Greece CD 1995 (Lazy Dog - LZDCD 805)