Renny Conti Shares New Single “Leaving The Zoo”
Words by Matt Keenan
Renny Conti has given us another taste of Split Second, his upcoming record due out September 25th via Mom + Pop, with the release of “Leaving The Zoo.”
Photo Credit: Gabe Long
The Brooklyn-based songwriter has had a wild stretch of a year. From losing a loved one, going through a breakup, and picking up and leaving New York all within the same month, “Leaving The Zoo” quickly grew from a simple diary entry to leaping off of the pages to become something bigger. This track is Conti’s attempt to imagine what it actually feels like to stand on the thin line between life and death, with murky verses giving way to bursts of distorted guitar, it feels very representative of literally jumping into the abyss right before Conti’s voice dissolves into a hushed murmur under waves of strings.
It’s a perfectly fitting preview into the world of Split Second, Conti has described the album’s title as coming from a moment of clarity he had on a pier, realizing that everything around us can shift all at once, without warning. This record doesn’t play as one long gut-punch, though, but instead shapes up to be more of a tapestry of reflection. It’s grief sitting next to small, quietly beautiful moments, exploring ways to find light on the other side of loss.
Split Second is Conti’s first true full-length since his 2025 self-titled debut, which pulled together older material and ended up putting him on a lot of people’s radars, and was enough to land him a deal with Mom + Pop and stages alongside Jay Som, Samia, and Hamilton Leithauser, plus festival sets at Pitchfork Paris and Pitchfork London. Split Second finds him working with co-producer Adrian Olsen in LA, and it sounds like a confidently realized and exciting version of Conti has come out of this process. He’s acoustic and plainspoken at his core, but still willing to erupt into heavier, more distorted textures that trace back to his teenage years playing in punk and metal bands with his older brother.
His older brother is an important figure on this record, as he was Conti’s first real musical influence, and Split Second’s tracklisting includes the first songs he wrote after his brother had passed away. The real beauty of this record is the tension, sitting between losing someone to addiction while they’re still alive, and losing them for good.
Split Second is out September 25th, and Conti will be taking it on the road this Fall, stopping in Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, LA, Brooklyn, Philly, and DC, with a run of UK and European festival dates first. You can find the full list of tour dates below.
Check out "Leaving The Zoo” now, and keep an eye out for more from Split Second before it lands next month via Mom + Pop.
Renny Conti — Live Dates
9/3-6 - End of the Road Festival
9/5 - Manchester Psych
9/6 - Edinburgh, UK Edinburgh Psych
9/8 - Leeds UK Hyde Park Book Club
9/9 - Bristol UK The Louisiana
9/10 - London UK The Lexington
9/12 - Leffinge, BE Leffingeleuren
9/13 - Heusden, NL Misty Fields
9/14 - Paris, FR La Boule Noire
9/15 - Rotterdam, NL V11
9/16 - Hamburg, DE Reeperbahn
10/9 - Chicago, IL Schubas
10/13 - Seattle, WA Sunset Tavern
10/14 - Portland, OR Polaris Hall
10/16 - San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord
10/17 - Los Angeles, CA The Echo
10/23 - Brooklyn, NY Baby’s All Right
10/24 - Philadelphia, PA Silk City
10/25 - Washington, DC Songbyrd
