Free Range Announces New Album Lost & Found, Shares “Hardly”
In 2023, the Chicago-based artist asserted themselves as one to watch in an already-crowded alternative-country scene with their acclaimed debut LP, Practice.
Photo by Alexa Viscius
Singer-songwriter Sofia Jensen, better known as Free Range, is only 21 years old, but they already boast a highly enviable resumé. In 2023, the Chicago-based artist asserted themselves as one to watch in an already-crowded alternative-country scene with their acclaimed debut LP, Practice, which was followed by the Loft Sessions EP and opening slots for genre royalty like Wilco. Today, they’ve announced their next major accomplishment: their sophomore album, Lost & Found, due March 28 via Mick Music. Teasing the hotly anticipated release, they’ve shared its lead single, “Hardly.”
Lost & Found was created during a prolific songwriting bout for Jensen, who wrote over 50 tracks for album consideration. With the help of producer Tommy Read, his sister Hannah Read (Lomelda) and Eric Adams (Acre Memos), they narrowed the tracklist down to 13 songs, which Jensen recorded in Silsbee, Texas last January with bassist Bailey Minzenberger, drummer Jack Henry and pedal steel player Andy Krull.
In keeping with Free Range’s earlier material, “Hardly” feels as raw and revealing as an open wound. “I have a pretty easy time being honest lyrically and in music, and it feels like such an avenue for me to express,” Jensen explains. “But in my daily life, I’m a pretty private person and have a hard time telling people how I feel. Being truly vulnerable with other people is a lot harder than you think.”
“Hardly,” itself, is an achingly vulnerable track, heavier than the woodsy, pedal steel-laced folk of Practice. Here, Jensen sings against a droning, reverb-dampened guitar line that’s attenuated by occasional pauses of crisper strumming and soft percussion (I find this exquisite dichotomy reminiscent of Columbus-based bootgaze project villagerrr). It’s the farthest Jensen has crossed into slowcore territory, and it marks a thrilling step forward—the soundscape is as murky and coolly evocative as their lyrics, which blur the line between a dysfunctional relationship and addiction. “You hardly notice when I glance at you / But I do / Or at the shelves and bottles I was so used to / They broke me, it’s true,” they sing, their voice deep, bruised and casually heart-wrenching as ever. If “Hardly” gives any indication of what to expect for Lost & Found, we’re surely in for another gut-punch of a record.
Read our 2024 profile on Free Range here. Below, you can watch the music video for “Hardly” and check out the Lost & Found artwork and tracklist further down.
Lost & Found Artwork:
Lost & Found Tracklist:
Tilt
Lost & Found
Chase
Service Light
Big Star
Hardly
Concept
Faith
Clean
Storm
Conditions
Ringing
Tilt (Reprise)