Renascent (album)

Renascent
Studio album by
the Durutti Column
Released31 July 2026 (2026-07-31)
Length41:32
LabelLondon
ProducerKeir Stewart
The Durutti Column chronology
Short Stories for Pauline
(2012)		 Renascent
(2026)
Singles from Renascent
  1. "Liars"
    Released: 27 May 2026
  2. "Scammer"
    Released: 1 July 2026

Renascent is the 28th album by the English post-punk band the Durutti Column, released on 31 July 2026. It is the band's first album of new material since 2010's A Paean to Wilson, making it their first release in over 15 years.[1]

Background

A reissue of the band's 1980 debut album The Return of the Durutti Column was made by London Records in November 2025 to mark its 45th anniversary.[2][3] A renewed wave of attention was given to the band in the surrounding period, with figures such as Frank Ocean and Yung Lean being admirers.[4]

The year before the album, the Durutti Column were sampled on Blood Orange's single "The Field",[5] and a tribute to frontman Vini Reilly and the band was organised as part of Meltdown Festival 2026, curated by Harry Styles,[6] titled "For Vini: A Tribute to the Durutti Column", taking place on 16 June.[7]

Production

Work on the album started as early as 2017, though sporadically; production picked up pace during the Covid lockdowns.[8] Long time collaborators drummer Bruce Mitchell and multi-instrumentalist Keir Stewart worked on the album alongside Reilly, while Mancunian singer-songwriter Caoilfhionn Rose (slated to be part of the tribute to the band at Meltdown) sang on two tracks and played piano on another.[9][10][11] Mitchell described Reilly's work as "constantly surprising",[6] while Reilly said "every single piece of music writes itself"; a press released called it a "symbolic return to origins".[12] The artwork for the album was created by design studio 8vo, with whom the band had worked since their days on Factory Records,[13] the album was also given a Factory Too catalogue number, in collaboration with Oliver Wilson, son of Tony Wilson.[14][15]

Recording sessions for the album were informal, often taking place in Reilly's kitchen, minimal studio equipment was used,[12] with Stewart serving as producer.[16] 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.[14][16]

Release

The lead single, "Liars", released on 27 May 2026, was described Robin Murray of Clash as "perfume-esque in its exquisite formlessness".[6] It was given its first play on the evening of 26 May 2026 on BBC Radio 6 Music, on Riley & Coe.[17] A second single, "Scammer", was released at the beginning of July.[18]

The final track, "All They See Is Fire" is a CD/digital exclusive.[10][13] An exclusive vinyl version of the album was also produced, limited to 500 copies.[11][15]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Any Decent Music7.7/10[19]
Metacritic82/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
Louder Than WarStarStarStarStarStar[21]
MusicOMHStarStarStarStarHalf star[22]
Pitchfork7.0/10[8]
Record CollectorStarStarStarStar[23]
UncutStarStarStarStar[24]

Any Decent Music gave the album a weighted average score of 7.7 out of 10 from eleven critic scores.[19] According to Metacritic, it received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from twelve critic scores.[20]

Wyndham Wallace of Uncut described the album as "unquestionably poignant" regardless of circumstances, and Reilly's playing as "six-stringed sorcery".[24] Louder Than War called the album "another beautiful piece of music".[21]

Record Collector noted that the music might at times work as a film score, with others "edging, delicately, towards a rock album", and added that the music "ebbs and flows like a drifting sea".[23] Ben Hogwood of MusicOMH reviewed the album positively, calling it the beginning of a "new, starlit chapter" for Reilly.[22]

Killian Laher of No More Workhorse called it a potential "comedown soundtrack of the summer", and that it might "spark a resurgence of interest" in the band.[25] Silent Radio called it "an incredible feat" that Renascent, the band's 28th album, was "comparable in quality" to the band's "career highlights".[26]

Jazz Monroe, writing for Pitchfork, described the album as distilling "minimalism, romanticism, and ambient" elements into what he described as a "sort of universal music".[8]

Track listing

Renascent track listing[27]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Echoes in the Memory"Vini Reilly1:22
2."Your Shadow at Morning"
4:09
3."The Present and Time Past"
  • Reilly
  • Stewart
5:57
4."Agonistes" (with Caoilfhionn Rose)
4:05
5."Liars"
  • Reilly
  • Stewart
3:46
6."Vapour in a Matchbox"Reilly2:09
7."Your Shadow at Evening"
  • Reilly
  • Stewart
4:42
8."Sargasso Sea" (with Caoilfhionn Rose)Reilly3:24
9."Scammer"
  • Reilly
  • Stewart
3:00
10."For Friends Everywhere"
  • Mitchell
  • Reilly
  • Stewart
5:31
11."All They See Is Fire" (with Lucas Elliot)
  • Stewart
  • Lucas Elliot
3:27
Total length:41:32

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Tidal.[27]

The Durutti Column

Additional contributors

  • Caoilfhionn Rose – vocals (8)
  • Sam Morris – French horn (10)
  • John Ellis – piano (10)
  • Liz Rossi – violin (10)
  • Lucas Elliot – vocals (11)

Charts

Chart performance for Renascent
Chart (2026) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[28]192
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[29]6
UK Albums (Official Charts)[30]54
UK Independent Albums (Official Charts)[31]1

References

  1. ↑ Cashmere, Paul (28 May 2026). "The Durutti Column Return With First New Album In 16 Years". Noise11. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  2. ↑ Key, Iain (26 November 2025). "The Durutti Column: The Return Of The Durutti Column". Louder Than War. Archived from the original on 12 December 2025. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  3. ↑ ""The Return of The Durutti Column" Receives 45th Anniversary Reissue on Vinyl and Limited Edition CD and Book". Post-Punk.com. 9 December 2025. Archived from the original on 25 February 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  4. ↑ Guttridge-Hewitt, Martin (28 May 2026). "The Durutti Column announce first album in 16 years, 'Renascent'". DJ Mag. Archived from the original on 29 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  5. ↑ Schube, Will (27 May 2026). "The Durutti Column Return with "Renascent," Their First Studio Album in 16 Years". FLOOD. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Murray, Robin (27 May 2026). "The Durutti Column Announce New Album 'Renascent' | News". Clash. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Richards, Sam (27 May 2026). "Reclusive Manchester music legend Vini Reilly unveils first new album in 16 years". Uncut. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 Monroe, Jazz (30 July 2026). "The Durutti Column: Renascent". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 31 July 2026. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Eede, Christian (27 May 2026). "The Durutti Column to Release First Album in 16 Years, 'Renascent'". The Quietus. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  10. 1 2 Monroe, Jazz (27 May 2026). "The Durutti Column Announce First Album in 16 Years". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 1 June 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  11. 1 2 Atkins, Jamie (28 May 2026). "The Durutti Column / Renascent". Super Deluxe Edition. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  12. 1 2 Skinner, Tom (28 May 2026). "The Durutti Column to release first album in 16 years 'Renascent' after Harry Styles' Meltdown show". NME. Archived from the original on 29 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  13. 1 2 Pearis, Bill (27 May 2026). "The Durutti Column announces first album in 16 years, shares "Liars"". BrooklynVegan. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  14. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (27 May 2026). "The Durutti Column Announce New Comeback Album 'Renascent'". Stereogum. Archived from the original on 30 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  15. 1 2 Jupp, Ed (28 May 2026). "News: Durutti Column Announce Details Of First Album In Sixteen Years". God Is in the TV. Archived from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  16. 1 2 "The Durutti Column Delights With New Album". Spin. 27 May 2026. Archived from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "BBC Radio 6 Music - Riley & Coe, Gid on his own - yet double the trouble". BBC. 26 May 2026. Archived from the original on 30 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  18. ↑ "Spill New Music: The Durutti Column Release New Single "Scammer" | New Album 'Renascent' Out July 31". The Spill Magazine. 2 July 2026. Archived from the original on 8 July 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Renascent by The Durutti Column reviews". Any Decent Music. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Renascent". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  21. 1 2 Bennett, M. K. (26 July 2026). "The Durutti Column: Renascent – Review - Album of the Week!". Louder Than War. Archived from the original on 28 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  22. 1 2 Hogwood, Ben (31 July 2026). "The Durutti Column - Renascent | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Archived from the original on 2 August 2026. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  23. 1 2 "The Durutti Column Renascent Review". Record Collector. 14 July 2026. Archived from the original on 28 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  24. 1 2 Wallace, Wyndham (23 July 2026). "The Durutti Column's Renascent is a moving and majestic return for the elusive Vini Reilly". Uncut. Archived from the original on 28 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  25. ↑ Laher, Killian (27 July 2026). "The Durutti Column – Renascent – Album Review". No More Workhorse. Archived from the original on 28 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  26. ↑ R, Molly (26 July 2026). "Album Review – Durutti Column: Renascent". Silent Radio. Archived from the original on 28 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  27. 1 2 "Renascent / The Durutti Column / Credits". Tidal. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "Top Albums (Semaine du 7 août 2026)". Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 7/8/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  30. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 7/8/2026 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  31. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 7/8/2026 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
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