L7 Share First New Song in Three Years Ahead of Farewell Tour
L7 have shared “Loma Linda,” their first new song in three years. The track is available as a free download on the band’s website for one week, Pitchfork reported on October 5. The window is short. Fans will need to visit the site during that week to get it.
The song goes back more than two decades. Its original demo was recorded in 2003 with bassist Janis Tanaka. The new release revisits that recording with Tanaka involved again, reuniting her with singer-guitarists Donita Sparks and Suzi Gardner and drummer Dee Plakas.
Tanaka previously played bass for L7 from 1999 to 2001, New Noise Magazine reported. She has now stepped back in ahead of the North American leg of the Last Hurrah Tour. The change follows the death earlier this year of L7 bassist Jennifer Finch, after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer.
The North American leg launches on October 6 in San Diego. The Last Hurrah is billed as the band’s farewell tour, meaning it is presented as the group’s final tour, Stereogum noted. The San Diego date opens a run that brings the reunited line-up on the road together.
Finch’s memoir, “Shooting Up and Making Out,” is set for posthumous publication in early 2027. That term means the book will be published after her death. L7 were founded in Los Angeles in 1985 by Sparks and Gardner, according to the band’s official biography. Plakas plays drums in the current line-up.
For fans, this means two things at once. There is new music to hear, but only for a limited time as a free download. There is also a chance to see the reunited group live, with Tanaka back on bass for the farewell dates.
A three-year gap between songs is long for an active touring band. In this case the wait ends with a track that is both old and new. The core recording dates to 2003. The release version arrives with the present line-up in place for the tour.
What makes this stand out is the timeline. A demo from 2003, a return of the bassist who played on it, and a farewell tour meeting in the same week. That download period runs for one week from the release.
