Free Range

Free Range, the project of Chicago-based musician Sofia Jensen (they/she), announces their second album Lost & Found, out March 28th via Mick Music, and unveils its lead single “Hardly.” Lost & Found follows their sharp 2023 debut, Practice, which “confront[ed] and reflect[ed] on youthful confusion and alienation, and the feelings that inspired them” (Chicago Reader). Lost & Found is about the logical next step of trying to feel like an adult. Much of the album stems from the experiences of 21-year-old Jensen, who formed Free Range when they were 15, moving out from their parents’ house and expanding their world in the Chicago music scene. Amid these changes, Jensen experienced feelings common in one’s early twenties but pervasive throughout adulthood: striving for connection even when you’re surrounded by people, and struggling to be emotionally open.

“I have a pretty easy time being honest lyrically and in music, and it feels like such an avenue for me to just express,” Jensen says. “But in my daily life, I’m a pretty private person and have a hard time telling people exactly how I feel…Being truly vulnerable with other people is a lot harder than you think.” Lost & Found is filled with nuanced, mature reflections on how tough forthrightness can be. 

Lead single “Hardly” is a full-on overdriven electric guitar barn-burner about what it feels like to really lean on someone, and how that can lead to an uneven and slightly dysfunctional relationship. Jensen sings “I hardly notice when I measure you / against me / but I could tell when you were pulling me through / the darkness in this room / cause all I wanted was just someone to look to / you hardly notice when I glance at you.” It also navigates the role that broken communication plays in a relationship where two people do care about each other, but can’t seem to find themselves on the same page. 

Jensen demoed most of Lost & Found in October 2023 in Silsbee, Texas, where producer Tommy Read, his sister Hannah Read (Lomelda), and Eric Adams (Acre Memos) helped Jensen whittle down 50 songs to a batch of 15. Jensen returned to Texas in January 2024 to record with the full Free Range band: bassist Bailey Minzenberger, drummer Jack Henry, and new member Andy Krull on pedal steel.