L7 Release “Loma Linda,” an Unfinished 2003 Demo, Ahead of Their North American Tour

L7 have shared “Loma Linda,” their first new song in three years. It is available as a free download on the band’s website for the next week and can be streamed on YouTube.

The track is not a recent composition. “Loma Linda” dates to 2003, when L7 cut a demo with bassist Janis Tanaka. Donita Sparks came across the unfinished recording while going through the band’s archives. “It still sounded rather fresh and very L7,” she said, “so we recorded new vocals with new lyrics and some other additional tracks and cranked it out in a couple of days ahead of this upcoming tour.”

Tanaka’s return is the substance behind the release. She has rejoined Sparks, Suzi Gardner and Dee Plakas for the North American leg of the Last Hurrah Tour, which starts October 6 in San Diego. L7’s longtime bassist Jennifer Finch died earlier this year after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. Her memoir, “Shooting Up and Making Out,” is set for posthumous publication in early 2027.

Putting out an old demo as a tour warm-up is a modest move, and the band treats it that way, giving the song away rather than framing it as a statement. What “Loma Linda” documents is a lineup reshuffled by circumstance and a group still working, with twenty-year-old material finished in a matter of days because it fit the moment.