2013 was a banner year for comebacks by members of the British rock vanguard, with long awaited releases from Bowie, Suede, and My Bloody Valentine. Interesting, then, that Trans quietly slipped their debut EP, Red, in right under our noses last fall.

Trans is Bernard Butler, original Suede guitarist, on record again, joined by Scottish Indie Rocker most recent of the 1990s, Jackie McKeown. I mean, think of it, a man who droves of folks who haven’t listened to Suede in a decade would fall over themselves to see play with the band again. This is a man who is widely viewed as one of Britain’s best and most inventive guitarists of at least the last generation; a man who, for the most part, hasn’t released any music of his own in over a decade. Indeed, Butler even declared himself “retired” from performing in 2008, and now he’s quietly reentered the room.

With its meaty rhythms, winding improv, and shades of Krautrock, Red proved a fairly vast departure from both Butler’s and McKeown’s previous work. Trans clearly is a vehicle for the duo to get their guitar rocks off, with nigh-on zero intention of any grandiose arrangements or lyrical statements. Green tones down the immediacy a bit, reclining a bit back on a poppier sound in places, as on the sunny jangle-pop of opener, “Thinking About a Friend”. As on Red, the lyrical content – which is relatively scant overall – is impossibly chipper and leans toward everyday life fare – relationships, hanging out, going out on the town, and so on. It’s simple, domestic, one might say mundane, but they’re very telling and crucial to Trans’ existence. It’s Butler and KcKeown entering middle age, their sights no longer set on all-night benders, slogging across the world on tour, and dark, seamy matters of the night. As Butler puts it on the lead track, laying out the spirit of Trans’ mission statement, “I think we should start again”.

“Tangerine” is a cheery slice of power-pop, bright and juicy as its namesake. While pleasant, Green comes across a bit slight to this point, but “The Prince” returns to the bite of debut. A monstrously swinging extended guitar workout, McKeown and Butler whip and weave around each other, building to an exchange of relentlessly pummeling single-note solos that Neil Young himself would be proud of. “Lights”, a soaring space-rocker, closes Green out on a rousingly cosmic note. You’ll have to be forgiven, might the case be, for hoping and thinking that Bernard Butler’s return would carry with it the decadent opulence of days past. Butler’s not looking back, and he’s not reinventing the wheel, he’s comfortable and refreshed just playing, and you’ll find comfort and refreshment in it too.