Would it be fair to expect an artist, almost fifty years since their first release, to return after a sixteen-year hiatus with arguably their finest piece of work? Probably not, and yet The Durutti Column, fronted (seems an understatement) by Vini Reilly, Manchester’s most underrated and overlooked, in fact, let’s make that one of the world’s most underrated and overlooked artists, have done just that.
Recorded over an eight-year period, ‘Renascent’, sees Reilly returning with long-time partners Bruce Mitchell on drums and Keir Stewart on bass. Stuart also handles the majority of the production work, and whilst the record may have been years in the making, we are told that often the sessions were short and sharp, capturing the conceptions and embryonic stages of ideas before over-indulgence ruined the simplicity.
‘Echoes In The Morning’ and ‘Time Present and Time Past’ gently wash over the listener, almost immediately immersing you in the ethereal. At times this record is beyond other worldy, a cliche in any other circumstance maybe.
‘Agonistes’ and ‘Sargasso Sea’ feature guest vocals from Manchester’s folktronica artist Caoilfhionn Rose, also adding piano to the latter track. Unsuprisingly ‘Sargasso Sea’ has been picked as a single; it is hard to argue against the track being one of the record’s highlights.
‘Vapour In A Matchbox’ is classic Vini Reilly with its seemingly endless guitar chimes, shimmers and reverberations
‘Your shadow at evening’ has Bruce leading the way with that kind of hypnotic shoulder shuffling beat that always feels best coming from Manchester
‘Your shadow at morning’ has an altogether more blissed-out sun riser feel to it. Blissed-out is the overarching feel to this record. There can be no overstating of just how influential Durutti Column have been, and this record will ensure their reverence continues to reverberate for another half a century.
Manchester has produced some amazing records but it seems they may have all just been eclipsed.
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