Lost & Found is the sophomore album release from Free Range, a Chicago-based project fronted by Sofia Jensen. The alt-folk meets indie-rock artist describes their new album as a deeper dive into the art of heartfelt songwriting; “I have a pretty easy time being honest lyrically and in music, and it feels like such an avenue for me to just express.” This approach, however, has its challenges. Lost & Found is filled with musings on how to bring this vulnerability into daily life, which isn’t always easy; “I’m a pretty private person and have a hard time telling people exactly how I feel… [it] is a lot harder than you think.” The themes on Lost & Found stem from the experiences of 21-year-old Jensen, who formed Free Range when they were 15, moving out from their parents’ house and finding their foothold in the Chicago music scene. The struggle of seeking connection while you’re surrounded by people and realizing the difficulty in being emotionally open were some challenges faced by Jensen during this time.
The album starts with “Tilt,” an openly tender song about intimacy that closes with a gorgeous instrumental swell that encloses the last minute or so of the track. The title track “Lost & Found” follows, a narrative-style song told from the first-person perspective. Jensen and their band construct a fully dimensional atmosphere that glides around you as the song proceeds forward, describing sensations while walking you through their thought processes. “Chase” continues on the interpersonal theme, alongside a climbing piano melody pedaled by Tommy Read.
“Big Star” speaks of the tender moments of being in love and the gentle release experienced when it has ran its course: “please hold my hand… I gotta hold onto something.” Through the song, a harmonica is prominently featured to really channel these intense emotions to sound. “Service Light” is more minimal in its arrangement, creating a dialed-back sound that highlights the intimate simplicity of Jensen’s songwriting. This refined focus draws us into themes of insecurity and the need for additional support from another person, symbolized by a service light. The song’s closing lyrics, “I’ll try to slow it down on letting you in,” concludes the hesitation Jensen deals with in allowing vulnerability to take root, signaling a cautious yet hopeful step toward emotional openness and building trust. “Hardly” (single review here) is about the cost of over-reliance that can render a relationship dysfunctional. As one of the first faster-paced tracks on the album, it conveys a pivotal moment of realization and acceptance.
“Concept” continues with this energy, accompanied by soaring emotional vocals that emphasize an increased passion and raw vulnerability. Most felt in the dramatic delivery of the bar “pull my arms back, keep me from making a scene,” Jensen effectively sums up the frustration that they’ve had with themselves and the situation. “Faith” encompasses us in some more beautiful country twang-style crooning. The line “there’s nothing worse than running from the mirror,” propels forward the journey of self-confrontation and growth, as Jensen navigates the tension between self-acceptance and the struggle to break free from detrimental patterns. The line “tracing your outline just to prove you were here” shows a slight disbelief in realizing patterns are slowly breaking. “Clean” continues on this note, where “getting clean” is a metaphor for breaking away from the aforementioned patterns. It’s another tender song, portraying a more gentle and healthier approach to navigating these situations in the future.
The emotional harmonicas on “Clean” meet bright pedal steel on the next track, “Storm”. This song represents the lingering presence of love and the process of past ghosts melding with the present. Jensen describes the after-effects of a storm, which although has landed them home, has left them distant and dissociative. The charming and bright pedal steel continues in “Conditions,” joined by the backing vocals of Bailey Minzenberger and Andy PK who offer a sense of emotional support and affirmation. It feels like a full-circle moment of ownership and control in how Jensen will choose to handle relationships moving forward. Free Range strips their sound all the way back in “Ringing” – a walkthrough of the emotional reverberations of the album. “Tilt (Reprise)” makes for an excellent album closer – the mainly instrumental track is only accompanied by vocal inflections.
In Lost & Found, Jensen hits the mark on heartfelt songwriting, delivering compositions throughout the album that feel close to the heart and deeply personal. As a conceptual work, the album reveals self-realizations of destructive patterns and takes listeners on a journey toward breaking free from them.
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