Folk’s modern muse, Jensen McRae, releases her sophomore album today, “I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!” via Dead Oceans. Throughout the project, McRae explores the emotional aftershocks of intimacy and the deeper process of reclaiming the self. Her voice — airy, textured, and undeniably expressive — embodies both the heartbreak of being left and the strength it takes to leave.
The album title, drawn from her favorite film Back to the Future, captures that resilience: “I could’ve easily collapsed beneath the weight of what happened to me, but I didn’t. I was bulletproof the whole time.” The album holds space for pain and power in equal measure, tracing each feeling with unflinching honesty.
I Don’t Know How But They Found Me! was recorded in North Carolina with Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Bon Iver), featuring contributions from Nathan Stocker (Hippo Campus), Matthew McCaughan (Bon Iver) and her brother Holden McRae. The album opens with “The Rearranger”, a track that shimmers with a nostalgic gleam, even as it suggests trouble in paradise. Another stand-out track, “Let Me Be Wrong”, is about giving oneself permission to knowingly do the wrong thing because sometimes the only way to learn is through mistakes. The project marks McRae’s transformation into self-assuredness, looking back at heartbreak from a new, more sure-footed and powerful vantage point. In addition to the story of healing after heartbreak, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me! reaffirms McRae’s defiance of expectations as she deepens her singer-songwriter identity and claims space for young Black women in the genre.
McRae shares, “More than anything, I am grateful to have made this album as a record of my transition into real womanhood. It’s me processing girlhood, with all its attendant naïveté and guilelessness and resistance to change, and emerging as an adult who is capable of forgiveness and transformation and measured optimism.”
Accompanying the recent singles “Savannah”, “Praying For Your Downfall”, and viral hit “Massachusetts”, the eleven-track album marks an evolution for McRae, blending poignant lyrics with familiar pop melodies. “Savannah” is a hauntingly beautiful anthem of liberation and self-discovery that finds McRae reflecting on leaving a toxic relationship, only to be confronted by her past at every turn. Partnered with the dreamy music video directed by Rena Johnson, Savannah has earned praise from Rolling Stone, ELLE, Consequence, FLOOD and BET. The penultimate track “Praying For Your Downfall” oozes snark and charm, cutting down a lover who’s no longer worth the ill will she once wished. The beloved “Massachusetts” shines longer than the viral snippet we first heard as an authentic and cohesive closing track.
Following the release of her latest album, Jensen McRae will embark on an extensive North American and European / UK tour in Spring 2025, bringing her signature blend of raw lyricism and soulful melodies to stages across the globe. The North American leg kicks off on May 3 in Philadelphia, PA, with sold out stops in major cities like New York, Toronto, Chicago, and Los Angeles—including additional dates added in NYC and LA due to overwhelming demand. In June, McRae will take her evocative storytelling overseas for a string of shows across Europe, with dates in Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, and Bristol. General public tickets are on sale now at jensenmcrae.com.
New dates have been announced for both North America and EU / UK- all dates below. Tickets to the newly announced Fall 2025 North America dates will be available on Friday, May 2 at 10 AM local time at jensenmcrae.com.
At just 27, Jensen McRae has already toured with Noah Kahan, MUNA, Amos Lee, and Corinne Bailey Rae, graced a Times Square billboard, and served as the cover of Spotify’s Today’s Singer-Songwriters playlist. Recently named Deezer’s Global Artist to Watch for April, Jensen continues to build momentum as a fearless storyteller, weaving raw vulnerability and poetic lyricism into songs that explore love, loss, and the complexities of life. A graduate of USC’s Thornton School of Music and a GRAMMY Camp alum, McRae is carving out space for young Black women in the folk genre with unflinching honesty and raw lyricism.
Recent single “Savannah” has earned widespread acclaim from McRae released her debut album, Are You Happy Now?, in 2022, featuring viral singles like “Immune” and “Wolves”, and has earned widespread acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, UPROXX, Billboard, and Stereogum. She’s been spotlighted in PAPER, DORK, and Wonderland Magazine, with the latter declaring, “The future is just beginning for Jensen McRae”. A recent feature in The New York Times reflected on the songs of I Don’t Know How But They Found Me! as working through “tangled emotions and phases: hope, disillusion, ambivalence, deceptions, negotiations, ruptures and stubborn memories.” This week, Jensen made her late night TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Performing album tentpole and viral hit “Massachusett” – WATCH HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Add8NTsS6w
Inspired by the likes of Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman, McRae’s voice—both literal and lyrical—resonates deeply, personifying the human experience with rare vulnerability and grace. With a sound that blends introspection and artistry, she’s a lifetime artist here to stay.