The new album is led by original Blondie and remaining members Debbie Harry and Chris Stein. The album also features Glen Matlock of Sex Pistols, Zach Condon of Beirut, and Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius.
The album follows 2017's Pollinator, which also featured Johnny Marr, as well as Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes), Charli XCX, Sia, TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, Joan Jett, Laurie Anderson, The Strokes’ Nick Valensi, and others.
Sessions for High Noon began with John Congleton, who also produced Pollinator. Then the band worked with David Wrench for additional production and mixing.
About the record: "Is classic Blondie—an amalgamation of all our different influences and eras into something new," says Debbie Harry in a press release. "This music feels grounded in the present, shaped by who we are and how we're living now."
"It's been a long, strange ride, and somehow here we are with another Blondie album," says Chris Stein. I’m not sure what the fuck I'm supposed to say at this point, except that we're incredibly grateful for all your support over the years."
Rob Roth did the album's artwork, visualiser videos, and a short film he directed for the album. He worked with creative studio Untold Studios. Roth has been working with the band since 1999's No Exit. I wanted to create something unexpected, but something that still feels quintessentially Blondie, says Roth. High Noon exists in its own world—somewhere between the past, present and future. There are references to different eras and the band’s history, all mixed together to create something that feels both familiar and new.
According to the singer Neil Tennant, the song concerned the insincerity of how President George H. W. Bush's speeches at the time of the First Gulf War utilised Winston Churchill's wartime rhetoric, in a manner similar to how artists sample music from other artists.
"DJ Culture" was one of two songs written as singles for Discography, along with "Was It Worth It?" Pet Shop Boys decided to use a structure of spoken verse and sung chorus, similar to "West End Girls". The music for the chorus came from a piece Chris Lowe had composed on a Fairlight.
In early 1991, Tennant used the phrase "DJ Culture" to draw an analogy between DJs sampling music and people who "sample attitudes from the past", at a time when he felt the response to the Gulf War was inauthentic. He later described the concept: "Political postures and social attitudes are glibly sampled from the past and the present like beats on dance records".
Parsing the lyrics, Tennant said the refrain "Living in a satellite fantasy" is an observation on the lack of meaningful content on 24-hour satellite television. The trend of reinventing oneself is conveyed in the lines "Like Liz before Betty", about Elizabeth Taylor at the Betty Ford Clinic, and "she after Sean", referring to Madonna's new image after her divorce from Sean Penn. "And I, my lord, may I say nothing?" paraphrases Oscar Wilde's response after he was sentenced to hard labour for homosexual practices in 1895.
The song also included samples of French dialogue from the 1950 Jean Cocteau film Orphée, in which coded and poetic messages are sent over the radio.
Both singles for Discography were recorded at Sarm West with the Brothers in Rhythm production team. The chorus of "DJ Culture" features Tessa Niles echoing Tennant in a style inspired by the David Bowie song "Absolute Beginners" (1986). The duo asked producer Stephen Hague to do additional work on the 7-inch mix. Hague added a string line in the middle section, and he suggested a change to the chorus, resulting in the alternating lines "waiting for the night to end" and "wondering who's your friend".
Preceding the album's November release, "DJ Culture" came out on 14 October 1991 on 7-inch vinyl, 12-inch vinyl, cassette, and CD. The original release debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 13 and spent two weeks in the top 40, and the remix entered the chart at number 40.
The single's B-side, "Music for Boys", was written by Lowe at Sarm West, inspired by stadium house music he had heard at the London Astoria. Lowe made two mixes, including an "Ambient mix". A third mix was done by Altern-8. In the US, "DJ Culture" and "Music for Boys" were released as a double A-side; it reached number 13 on the Dance Singles Sales chart.
The original cover photo, taken by Eric Watson, shows Lowe and Tennant with DJ equipment. The remix cover is a depiction of TV static.
The music video was directed by Pet Shop Boys' long-time collaborator Eric Watson and was choreographed by Jacob Marley, who had worked on the Performance Tour. Tennant and Lowe alternately appear as a pair of doctors, a pair of soldiers in desert combat dress, and a football referee and fan. Lowe portrays a judge presiding over the trial of Oscar Wilde, who is played by Tennant, in a visualization of the line "And I my lord, may I say nothing?" Watson observed: "It's a line-by-line interpretation of the lyrics, completely literal". Watson used computer-generated imagery to create a computer wargame for the opening sequence and composite shots such as Tennant and Lowe in front of the Acropolis. The production cost £150,000 and was their most expensive music video up to that point.
DJ Culturemix
In spite of everything, 1994 was a mixed bag. It was the year Kylie BACK with "Confide in Me", Sting had his first UK top 10 hit with "When We Dance", and Bruce Springsteen returned to the UK top 10 for the first time in nine years with his No 2 single "Streets Of Philadelphia".
Amongst Boy bands included here are Take That, Boyzone, Boyz II Men, East 17 (two tracks including the Christmas No 1 ‘Stay Another Day’) and the first half of CD 2 (the Britpop section) is the exception rather than the rule, but excellent all the same with tracks from Oasis, Radiohead, The Stone Roses, Suede, Elastica, Primal Scream et all.
Two doses of Elton John from the Lion King soundtrack is probably two too many, but very good to see Crowded House's "Locked Out", Sophie B. Hawkins’ "Right Beside You" and The Grid’s "Swamp Thing" included here.
The usual formats on offer: 4CD sets (deluxe hardcover book and card sleeve editions) and the 3LP version, which delivers 44 tracks across six sides of bright blue vinyl.
Other remarkable highlights are the extended version of Curiosity Killed The Cat's excellent "Misfit", the "John Potoker Extended Mix" of Fine Young Cannibals' "Ever Fallen in Love", "The Whole Story" version of ABC's "The Night You Murdered Love", the superb "Superb, Superb Mix" of Swing Out Sister's "Twilight World" (a great mix, but an odd choice, given it's effectively the album version) and more long mixes from New Order, Simply Red, Wet Wet Wet, Johnny Hates Jazz and Jan Hammer.
NOW 12″80s: 1987 – Part Two is out on 16 October 2026.
Track List:
The band is back with one of the most beautiful albums of their existence, airy, magical music and songs that can either sound like a reassuring backdrop to life or, played louder, become a subtle pop dream. The title means rebirth, more than apt given the long wait. And there’s a joy there in that this is the Durutti Column of the long-standing trio featuring drummer Bruce Mitchell and bassist, keyboard player and producer Keir Stewart.
Mitchell described Reilly's work as "constantly surprising", while Reilly said "every single piece of music writes itself"; a press released called it a "symbolic return to origins". The artwork for the album was created by design studio 8vo, with whom the band had worked since their days on Factory Records, the album was also given a Factory Too catalogue number, in collaboration with Oliver Wilson, son of Tony Wilson.
Recording sessions for the album were informal, often taking place in Reilly's kitchen, minimal studio equipment was used, with Stewart serving as producer. The tenth track, "For Friends Everywhere", is a reworked version of the band's early track "For Belgian Friends", given in a new orchestral arrangement.
The album opens with the gentle throb of "Echoes In The Memory" but slips softly into a longer piece, the near-Oriental twinkle of "Your Shadow At Morning". Next is "Time Past And Present," the longest piece at almost six minutes, echoes and swirls around Reilly's guitars. With "Agonistes," which enters with a dreamy drumbeat, then sees the harmonic sweep of experimental Manchester vocalist Caoilfhionn Rose. Renascent also features the acclaimed lead single "Liars," a bona fide entry into the Column canon with layers guitar refractions and sighing keys over portentous drums a truly regretful sound that brings back the classic Durutti Column sound. Closest to a pop song is "Vapours In A Matchbox," Reilly’s guitar jangling and swirling in the clouds, while "Your Shadow At Evening" sees the mystical guitar work swept along by a rocky beat.
Now Rose returns to sing vocals, and provide piano, for the next track, "Sargasso Sea," the only gentle and romantic song so far. Reilly’s spoken, murmured vocals drift through the musical haze of the album second single "Scammer" before "For Friends Everywhere," the most rounded, elegant piece. The musical ensemble here sees Stewart on celeste, marimba and bass clarinet, along with guest musicians on French horn, violins, piano and timpani, a new age orchestral work.
Reilly has suffered traumatic times in recent years but he has returned with one of his best, the long gap in proceedings only giving his vision a new depth. Musically, Renascent exists in a dialogue between past and present and is perhaps the most collaborative album Durutti have made – and not just because of the increased input of Mitchell and particularly of Stewart. Reilly’s Manchester neighbor, folktronica artist Caoilfhionn Rose sings on the stately, yearning “Agonistes” and sings and plays piano on the gorgeous, hymn-like "Sargasso Sea." Reilly's artistic philosophy remains rooted in motion and response. Creativity, for him, is an ongoing process; reactive, immediate, and alive. That sense of momentum carries through Renascent, an album that does not seek to recapture the past but to reanimate it, allowing it to evolve in new and unexpected ways.
So far, the album has receive universal acclaim, a beautiful piece of music with Reilly's at his best, a collection of tunes that sometimes works perfectly as a film score and sometimes edging as a rock album, the music flows fantastic with minimalism, romanticism and ambient elements everywhere, no doubt why the band is enjoying a well-resurgence of interest amongst listeners.
The focus on the Seattle grunge scene helped bring attention to Badmotorfinger, and the singles "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" found a major audience in rock radio and MTV. Badmotorfinger became the band's highest charting album at the time on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at number 39. The album received critical acclaim, citing the significant improvements over earlier releases and evolution in the band's sound.
The band kept in touch with producer Terry Date—who had worked on their previous record—due to their positive working relationship and a desire to avoid the pressure of finding a new producer. Additionally, Ben Shepherd's arrival breathed new life into the band, complementing the group's existing musical expertise.
The album showcases a melting pot of sounds—ranging from grunge and alternative metal to heavy metal and hard rock—making it both interesting and cohesive. Furthermore, the songs adopted a more commercial approach, making them viable for radio promotion; in the words of Kim Thayill, the album was "fast and weird," thanks to the contributions Shepherd brought to the mix.
One of the most emblematic tracks was "Rusty Cage," particularly due to the sound of a wah-wah pedal and an audio filter used by Thayil; the riff is both beautiful and strange, utilizing alternative tunings—a formula repeated on "Holy Water" and "Searching With My Good Eye Closed" (tuned to E), as well as "Mind Riot"—which brought a fresh dimension to their sound.
The lyrics also lent themselves to this approach, with Cornell addressing subjects ranging from the personal to society, government, the economy, and similar themes. The over-exploitation of the figure of Jesus is exposed in "Jesus Christ Pose"; "Outshined" discussed periods of extreme self-confidence and how that can backfire; and "New Damage" offered a critique of the American Right. Regarding the title, Kim Thayil says it was a play on a Montrose song called "Bad Motor Scooter"—that was the inspiration. They included it because it sounded aggressive, and it served the band well.
Although the album was overshadowed by the unexpected fame of "Nevermind", it succeeded in garnering support for the band and selling millions of copies at the time; furthermore, it helped popularize alternative rock and brought the grunge style and sound into the mainstream.
Badmotorofinger Track List:
