Love is a free treasure — and it feels even more special when Adrianne Lenker reminds you of it.
On Monday, the Big Thief frontwoman released her single “Free Treasure” ahead of her upcoming solo album Bright Future, out March 22.
“Free Treasure is one of my all-time favorite songs,” Lenker wrote on Instagram. “I was playing it on a stoop for my good friend @james_krivchenia, singing the last chorus when he chimed the words ‘free treasure.’”
“I hope we all can know love like this one,” she added, “Full of ‘understanding, patience and pleasure, time and attention and love without measure.’”
Lenker will be stopping by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night, March 19, to perform “Free Treasure” ahead of her album’s release this Friday. The new single follows previously released tracks “Fool,” “Sadness as a Gift,” and “Ruined.”
Bright Future, produced by Lenker’s frequent collaborator Philip Weinrobe, was recorded with Nick Hakim, Mat Davidson, and Josefin Runsteen — three musicians who had never worked together.
“I had no idea what the outcome would be,” Lenker said in a statement earlier this year. “It was magical. I think the thing these people have in common, they are some of the best listeners I know musically. They have extreme presence.”
“It felt like everyone’s nervous systems released,” she added. “Once we were IN the song, somehow we just knew. No one stopped a take. We didn’t listen back. I only listened after everybody else left.”
Bright Future follows Songs and Instrumentals, released in the fall of 2020.
Along with promoting her new LP, Lenker has been a fierce advocate for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Last week, she raised nearly $75,000 to support the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. She dropped a collection of songs for purchase on Bandcamp with proceeds going to the organization.
“I can’t express how sad and angry I am about this ongoing violence towards Palestinians,” she wrote. “The killing must stop.”