Butcher Babies confront endings and new beginnings on Leaving California
Butcher Babies have released Leaving California, the fifth single from their forthcoming album Nightbloom. The track arrives alongside an official video and finds the band channelling the upheaval of departure into a heavy, emotionally charged new chapter.
Produced by Howard Benson, Leaving California centres on the difficult process of walking away from a life that once felt fixed in place. It is drawn from vocalist Heidi Shepherd’s own experience of leaving California during 2020, as friends, family and figures from across the music industry began moving elsewhere.
A song born on the road out of town
Shepherd said: “The writing of this song began in July of 2020 as I saw my industry, family, and friends all one-by-one leaving California; a place I truly believed would be my forever home. I built my life there. I traded in my 20 year comfort of sandy beaches, ocean air, and the walk of fame for the big unknown.
“During that time, I wasn’t only breaking up with California, I was moving on from a life that I am so grateful to have experienced, but needed a change. I was leaving a relationship that gave me so much for so many years, but had run dry. On the drive out of town, I found myself humming this chorus melody into my voice notes, documenting in real time, my shedding of that skin. Leaving California is about that bittersweet moment where new beginnings seem daunting, yet, oh so, exciting.”
Nightbloom is due for release on 2 October via Judge & Jury Records. The record is described as a personal reflection on Shepherd’s past, relationships, heartbreak and the lessons accumulated across the past 25 years.
Producer Howard Benson said: “I really relate to Heidi’s lyrics on Leaving California. It’s very of the moment and timely, but the lyrics are also deeply personal. On the track, the band captures the conflicting emotions of the lyrics with their scorching performance!”
Three Days Grace drummer Neil Sanderson added: “I knew the sky was the limit when I heard the new Butcher Babies record. I said, ‘This is a decades-long band out there being OG’s in a time when people are worried about AI. They are what rock is supposed to be—dangerously human.’ And Leaving California just jumps outta the speakers for me.”
The full Nightbloom tracklist
The 10-track album includes previous singles Sincerity, Broken & Beautiful and Songbird, with Leaving California arriving near the record’s closing stretch.
- Lost in Your Touch
- Sincerity
- Blame it on the Wind
- Broken & Beautiful
- Are You Waiting Up?
- Black Clouds Over Georgia
- Fever In My Neck
- Songbird
- Leaving California
- Black Dove
Pre-order or pre-save Nightbloom here.
Butcher Babies will continue touring across the US this autumn, including dates alongside Chad Gray and an appearance at Kentucky’s Louder Than Life festival. More live information is available via the band’s official website.
