The reunited rock band shares a behind-the-scenes look at its creative process, offering fans their first tantalizing clues about what could become a long-awaited new album.
More than 14 years after Lacey Sturm’s departure from Flyleaf, the band appears to be taking another significant step toward its next chapter. Recent Instagram carousels shared by Flyleaf offer fans a glimpse inside the recording studio, complete with familiar faces, musical equipment, and perhaps most intriguingly, a whiteboard documenting the progress of 17 potential new songs.
The accompanying caption for one post was brief but meaningful:
“A little glimpse into our week. It feels so good to be creating together again.”
For longtime fans of the Texas alternative rock band, those words carry considerable weight.
With Sturm reunited with guitarists Jared Hartmann and Sameer Bhattacharya, bassist Pat Seals, and drummer James Culpepper, the possibility of new music from Flyleaf’s classic lineup has generated considerable anticipation. Now, the band’s latest social media update provides something more tangible than speculation.
Seventeen Songs, One Very Interesting Whiteboard
Among the photographs shared in the Instagram carousel is a large recording progress board featuring 17 handwritten song titles or working names. The board is organized into columns labeled “Misc,” “Drums,” “Bass,” “Jared,” “Sameer,” “Vox,” and “Notes,” suggesting that the band is tracking individual instrumental contributions and recording progress.
The titles visible on the board appear to include:
1. Hot Dome
2. Blood Orange
3. Dire Shire
4. Come Back 2 Me
5. Pat Idea
6. Televangelist
7. Wasp
8. Not Giving Up
9. Wednesday
10. Pain
11. Shepherd
12. Beaches
13. Cinematic
14. G’Nite Old Friend
15. Sept 21st
16. Angel of Light
17. 37 / GORILLA BALL Z
Several entries already contain what appear to be progress markings beneath the instrumental columns, while others remain blank. Songs such as “Hot Dome” and “Dire Shire” appear to have activity documented across multiple instruments, including drums, bass, and both guitarists.
Interestingly, the vocals column appears to be empty throughout the board, although that doesn’t necessarily indicate that Sturm has yet to record vocals. The board could represent a specific stage of the recording process, with vocal sessions being tracked separately or scheduled for later.
It’s also important to recognize that these titles are likely working names used during the songwriting and recording process. There is no confirmation that all 17 compositions will appear on a finished album, or that any of the titles will survive unchanged.
Still, the sheer number of entries suggests that Flyleaf has a substantial collection of material under consideration.
A Return to the Band’s Roots
Another interesting detail visible in the studio photographs is a banner displaying the name “Passerby.”
Before adopting the name Flyleaf, the band performed under the Passerby moniker during its formative years. Seeing that name hanging alongside a board of potential new songs creates an intriguing connection between the group’s earliest beginnings and its current creative resurgence.
Whether the banner was intentionally displayed as a symbolic tribute to those early days or simply happens to be part of the recording space remains unknown. Nevertheless, its presence feels particularly appropriate.
Flyleaf’s self-titled debut album, released in October 2005, introduced audiences to a distinctive combination of alternative metal, post-grunge, and emotionally charged songwriting. Sturm’s unmistakable vocals, shifting effortlessly between delicate melodies and explosive screams, helped establish a sound that stood apart from much of the mainstream rock landscape of the era.
Songs such as “I’m So Sick,” “Fully Alive,” and “All Around Me” became defining moments in the band’s early career, while subsequent albums Memento Mori and New Horizons expanded their musical identity.
Following Sturm’s departure in 2012, Flyleaf continued with vocalist Kristen May, releasing Between the Stars in 2014 before eventually entering an extended period of inactivity. Sturm’s return to performing with the band in 2023 reopened a chapter that many fans believed had permanently closed.
Could This Become Flyleaf’s First Album With Lacey Sturm Since 2012?
If these sessions ultimately produce a full-length album, it would mark the first Flyleaf studio record featuring Sturm since New Horizons, released in 2012. That possibility alone makes the latest studio photographs noteworthy.
Of course, the presence of a recording board doesn’t establish a release date, album title, or even whether the band intends to release all of this material as one project. No official tracklist or release schedule has been announced in the images shared.
What the photographs do demonstrate, however, is that the reunited musicians are actively creating together, with a sizable collection of songs appearing to be in various stages of development.
For a band whose earliest recordings helped define an era of alternative rock, the prospect of new material featuring its original vocalist and musicians is an exciting development.
And while Flyleaf hasn’t revealed exactly what comes next, one thing is becoming increasingly clear.
This reunion appears to be about more than revisiting the past. Flyleaf is working toward something new.
For now, 17 handwritten titles on a studio whiteboard may be the closest thing fans have to a preview of the band’s next musical chapter.
And sometimes, that’s more than enough to get people talking.
