Free Range Shares New Single, “Growing Away”

Free Range – the project of 18-year-old Chicago-based musician Sofia Jensen (they/she) – unveils a new single/video, “Growing Away,” from their debut album, Practice, out February 17th via Mick Music.

Co-produced by Jensen’s live bandmates Jack Henry (drums) with Bailey Minzenberger (bass), “Growing Away” is one of the most immediate songs on Practice. The track’s instrumentation bounces with warm twangs of guitar, uplifting percussion, and Jensen’s rich vocals, but it deals with a heavier subject matter – sobriety. Jensen’s young age belies the wisdom of their captivating lyrics: “I know how it feels when I can’t remember // Talking to you ‘bout my weekend // I let you // Thinking that it was accidental // When I stopped caring about being careful.”

“”Growing Away” was written a few months before I ultimately did get sober, and it deals with the realization that I was losing track of who I was,” says Sofia. “The things I was doing were all controlled by the lack of compassion I had for myself. I felt really disoriented in this haze of memory loss that was becoming a huge part of my life, and I was still at a point where I had no idea how to talk about it with anyone. It was really important for me to write this song I think, because it served as an exercise in acceptance for me for the things I needed to do to finally take care of myself.”

The accompanying video was directed by Robert Salazar (Half Gringa, Andrew Sa) and filmed in the space where Jensen lives.

Watch Free Range’s “Growing Away” below

Practice feels like the dappled Scandinavian forests where Sofia has spent their summers for as long as they can remember. It feels like waving prairie grasses warmed by the late afternoon sun, or like a contemplative cup of coffee on the porch first thing in the morning. Practice is full of poetic observations that capture the small details and emotional nuances of the people, places, and moments in Sofia’s life, filtered through wordplay and rhyme until they become something more universal.

Despite its hazy sun-kissed feel, Practice is the result of a series of late-night sessions during the bleakest days of the pandemic. That’s when Jensen brought a collection of songs she had written at home to fledgling recording engineer — and future co-producer and live bandmate — Jack Henry. The two quietly bonded in the quiet oasis of the studio where Jack had recently worked as an intern. Sofia was in the midst of a personal musical transformation at the time, evolving out of being a rock bandleader and into a more personal, intimate style. Eventually, they were joined in the studio by Jack’s childhood friend and bassist Bailey Minzenberger. Jensen believes in trying to capture as much of the music as they can in real time, avoiding amending everything in post. Part of that ambition are the live bass and drum tracks Bailey and Jack laid down in the studio, which help give Practice its warm, holistic sound. Although the band came together organically, its sound is very intentional.

You can find out more about Free Range, get your copy of Practice, or see any upcoming tour dates on their website here.