I Don't Know How But They Found Me! (Limited Edition LP)

From the very beginning, fans have fallen in love with Jensen McRae for the sharp, evocative and clear-eyed songwriting. An avid journaler, McRae has been breathlessly documenting her existence since she was 18. Her first album, Are You Happy Now?, was a mission statement for the artist who grew up an automatic outsider: a Black Jewish girl from Los Angeles, hellbent on making folk music in spite of the world's attempts to box her into other, more stereotypically Black genres. McRae looked to her songwriting heroes (Alicia Keys, Carole King, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder) to build a sonic world all her own. As her audience grew and with myriad doors began unlocking, it "became the record of my coming-of-age. But it was a quiet coming-of-age, one that mostly took place inside my own head."

I Don't Know How But They Found Me! takes place against the backdrop of romantic turbulence and McRae's rapidly growing audience. "I had never been in love before," McRae said, "not really. And then I had two life-altering relationships back to back in my early twenties. This album is primarily an exploration about how love and intimacy knock the wind out of you, can take your legs out from under you." She has also had multiple viral moments; the most recent was in 2023, when McRae posted a solo verse and chorus online, little more than a piece of a demo, and it took off. Covers, duets, and an avalanche of new fans followed (including the likes of Justin Bieber, Stormzy, and Dan Nigro to name a few); the song was the beginning of "Massachusetts" , which would become her first Dead Oceans release.