Life And Trust NYC lives again in a small but significant way—with the upcoming release of Taylor Bense’s original theatrical score on 03 October 2025.
Taylor Bense, the music director and chief composer of the original Life And Trust score, has been dropping overt clues about the album’s upcoming release over on his Instagram account for a few weeks now. Most of these clues came from song samples from Bense’s incredible score set atop promotional Life And Trust video vignettes filmed by show alumni Luca Renzi and Mike Tyus.
On this topic, I have to ask—where exactly were all of these incredible trailers and promos while the actual Life And Trust NYC show was running? Why weren’t these videos saturating YouTube and social media in an attempt to create some kind of viral marketing campaign? Was Emursive resting on its Sleep No More NYC laurels so much it wasn’t worried about grabbing attention and selling tickets until it was too late?
Alas, we’ll never know. Life And Trust NYC unexpectedly announced its closure on 20 April 2025 after playing its sudden final performance on 19 April 2025. Several rumors and much speculation swirled (and swirl still) as to why, but it all reaches the same conclusion—Life And Trust NYC is no more.
But thanks to Taylor Bense, the show will soon enjoy a tiny bit of restoration with the release of the Life And Trust soundtrack. One song that still haunts my memories of Life And Trust is the somber melody that played in Conwell’s office during the character’s original monologue scene (before it was cut in late January 2025). I dubbed this song “Conwell’s Theme,” and I’d follow it into the recesses of the fictional Life And Trust Bank as it worked its sad enchantment over all of Conwell Tower’s cursed trustees. I’ll be curious to finally learn what the official name of this song I love so much actually is.
I often said I never cared about any Life And Trust NYC merchandise aside from getting my hands on the “Great Mephisto” posters by Rodery Studio (check) and the original music from Life And Trust (soon to be check).
Because, as of today, 29 September 2025, the original Life And Trust soundtrack is on pre-order over on iTunes and several other digital platforms. I very rarely pre-order anything, but I instantly did so for this album.
The track list is as follows:
01. Empire
02. Gretchen Prepares Valentin
03. Boxing I: Valentin and Mephisto
04. Repentance
05. Gretchen
06. Emma, Marco, and Farouk
07. Spiritualist I
08. Blood Suckle
09. Boxing II: Dorian and Valentine
10. Vaudeville’s Destroy Film
11. Ocean
12. Mrs. V
13. Naima
14. Sound Poetry
15. Returning Vitality
16. Spiritualist II
17. Examination
18. JG at Pharmacy
19. PTSD
20. Marco and Farouk
21. Cat and Mouse
22. Naima and Zavia
23. Valentin After Gala
24. Lillith Quartet
25. “Life and Trust” Finale
Along with Taylor Bense, Life And Trust NYC enjoyed additional musical composition work from Owen Belton, with further credits from Nathan Wheeler and Greg Paulus.
The release of the original Life And Trust score brings me untold joy, and I hope all Life And Trust fans buy it.
Images were found on various websites and are credited to photographer Stephanie Crousillat.
