Renascent (album)

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]

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.^[8][9][10] 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".^[11] The artwork for the album was created by design studio 8vo, with whom the band had worked since their days on Factory Records,^[12] the album was also given a Factory Too catalogue number, in collaboration with Oliver Wilson, son of Tony Wilson.^[13][14]

Recording sessions for the album were informal, often taking place in Reilly's kitchen, minimal studio equipment was used,^[11] with Stewart serving as producer.^[15]

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.^[16] A second single, "Scammer", was released at the beginning of July.^[17]

The tenth track, "For Friends Everywhere", is a reworked version of the band's early track "For Belgian Friends", given an orchestral arrangement.^[13][15]

The final track, "All They See Is Fire" is a CD/digital exclusive.^[9][12] An exclusive vinyl version of the album was also produced, limited to 500 copies.^[10][14]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Any Decent Music	7.4/10[18]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Louder Than War	[19]
Record Collector	[20]
Uncut	[21]

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Any Decent Music gave the album a weighted average^[22] score of 7.4 out of 10 from five critic scores.^[18]

Wyndham Wallace of Uncut described the album as "unquestionably poignant" regardless of circumstances, and Reilly's playing as "six-stringed sorcery".^[21] Louder Than War called the album "another beautiful piece of music".^[19]

Record Collector noted that the music might at times work as a film score, with others "edging, delicately, towards a rock album", and that the music "ebbs and flows like a drifting sea".^[20]

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.^[23] Silent Radio called it "an incredible feat" that Renascent, the band's 28th album, was "comparable in quality" to the band's "career highlights".^[24]

Credits are adapted from Tidal.^[25]