The Durutti Column return with Renascent's quiet grace

Everything is obfuscated through differing lenses, different times and tales that are soaked into the sounds. The man, the illnesses and aging, and of course the beautiful arrangements. Above everything the band have steadfastly and surprisingly survived long enough to warrant the tag of comeback for their first album in sixteen years, Renascent. There’s something quietly radical about Renascent given it arrives oblivious to the times. It’s unbothered by nostalgia or inflated expectations but focuses on memories, real and imagined, perhaps long. long forgotten. This is viewed merely as another chapter in a body of work that has always revelled in its own atmosphere. That restraint comes out of necessity these days, Reilly’s arthritis he says limits his playing. But the pillars of lifetime bandmates (manager/drummer) Bruce Mitchell and producer/multi-instrumentalist Kier Stewart shore up and work around any perceived limitations. "Liars" conjures melancholy by pairing luminous synth washes with pastoral guitar figures and free-associative vocals. The dual refrains of “I’m sorry” and “I love you” feel suspended in regret and memories of life passed by. “Scammer” forgoes the guitar al...