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.
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