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The lead-off single, Sunrise, from the new Duran Duran album has been kicking around the airwaves for quite some time now. Now that the album’s out (and my workplace was kind enough to kick me over a copy), I’ve had a chance to see if the rest of the album lives up to such a peppy, catchy selling track.

I’m not sure how best to put this, but how about I just say that as a pop record, it succeeds on its own merits.

I should explain. I generally listen to two types of music, much to my dear father’s chagrin: Rock, and Pop. The line between the two is often muddied, and I tend not to really care one way or the other which is which. The only real distinction between the two in my mind is that of Safe versus Risky. I don’t care how many guitars are playing, if the song is crafted so as to appeal precisely to a core demographic, it’s Pop. (Insert diatribe about so-called edgy “alternative rock” bands here.) Rock, admittedly, usually involves electric guitars. The Pet Shop Boys don’t exactly write what most people would consider “rock music.”

Like I said, the line is often muddied. But bear with me, here.

Astronaut is a very good pop record. It’s neatly, almost lovingly produced. There are nice variations in tone and tempo and effect. However, there’s not a risk taken anywhere. This thing is instantly recognizable as a Duran Duran record, and at no point is there a surprise track. Maybe your experience was different, but I was pleasantly surprised by some of the tracks on The Wedding Album. I’m thinking both of the two hit singles (Come Undone and Ordinary World) and some of the unaired tracks (Love Voodoo and Too Much Information). They sounded, of course, like Duran Duran… but they were just different enough to make me think, “Hey. Not bad. Way to do something unexpected, guys.”

I listened to this new album all the way through and while at no point did I think that a particular song sucked (oddly enough, this too is unlike my experience with The Wedding Album), none of the songs stuck in my mind either. Are the lead-off tracks good? Sure, they’re catchy and peppy and all that, but a year from now nobody’s going to be listening to them.

The closest thing to “something different” comes at the end of the album in the form of Still Breathing, a dark-ish piece that includes the idea of burning down one’s hometown. Now if only it was a more memorable song, I’d be more excited about this.

By comparison, the Franz Ferdinand album is also a very carefully crafted pop record, but it works in a way Astronaut entirely fails to. If I was a more knowledgeable sort, I suppose, I could put my finger on exactly why, but there you have it. This is why I don’t write for Rolling Stone, Pulse, or that neighborhood rag you see at the store but never bother picking up.

I’ll say it again: This is a very good pop record. If you like Duran Duran at all, this is not a bad purchase. I actually suspect that a few of these tracks would make outstanding remixes. But… I wanted something I could really get stuck in my head and enjoy the hell out of, and this ain’t it.