(PRE -ORDER) New Balance “To Live And Die In LA” Cassette Tape

New Balance's third record To Live And Die In LA is out Friday, November 20th, 2026.

New Balance began as the amorphous solo project of visual artist Jeremy Leasure back in 2017. With an emphasis on songwriting through recorded improvisation, the songs of New Balance's two full lengths, two EPs, and various singles thread an auteurist needle between the impromptu performances from Leasure's rotating collaborators, and the overarching vision to be had over any particular release. After 2022's sophomore record More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid though, the project ostensibly stopped. The sound of that era had reached its culmination, and the piecemeal approach of writing songs through the recording process no longer felt fruitful.

The decision was made between Leasure and his collaborators to become an actual band. The kind that write songs in a room together, arranging everything as a unit. Songwriting is unanimous between the five members. Leasure, Jacob Maag, Emily Monnig, Dawson Timpany, and Andy Campbell draw upon a well of inspiration for the forthcoming third album, To Live And Die In LA. Finding crucial lessons in the work of The Feelies, The Raincoats, Television, and Arthur Russell in particular. It became evident that they needed to fold in the influence of their physical surroundings, and allow the art to be shaped by the good and the bad of that. As the album title implies, this is what you could call an "LA" record. Deeply shaped by wildfires, modest apartments, heat islands, devastating earthquakes, and the surveillance state. It is ultimately saved from being unbearably depressing through beautiful moments of love, community, and tenderness in the arrangements and performances.

Recorded live in a room together with minor overdubs by recording engineer Evan Schaid (Chase Petra, Deloyd Elze). This is a record that sways to its specific rhythm. Intentionally leaning into tempo changes, mic bleeds, and improvisation forward structures. A warts and all approach to making a record.