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Max McNown - ‘A Lot More Free’
Official Release Date: August 25th, 2023
Songwriters: Jesse Reeves, Max McNown & Steve Fee.
Producer: Steve Fee
The Background:
Although released in August 2023, it took Max McNown's evocative, autumnal ballad ‘A Lot More Free’ the best part of a year to truly take off and become the viral hit it is today.
Arriving as part of an EP of the same name, ‘A Lot More Free’ was re-packaged as part of the Oregon-born artist's 2024 debut album, Wandering, which dropped in April.
The sparse ambience and aching lyricism of ‘A Lot More Free’ has led to comparisons being drawn between Max McNown and fellow fast-emerging country-folk prodigies, such as Dylan Gossett, Sam Barber, Michael Marcagi, Wyatt Flores and more. Since its release, ‘A Lot More Free’ has secured spots on Billboard's Emerging Artist Chart, TikTok's Breakthrough Chart and Spotify's Viral 50 USA rankings.
The Sound:
Throughout ‘A Lot More Free’, the spotlight falls firmly on Max McNown's intricate vocals, which coast with a subtle rasp across a fleeting acoustic guitar for much of the track.
The emphatic drums that enter the fray for the hook accentuate the gravitas and emotionality of Max McNown's rousing, bittersweet reflections on a lost relationship, before the instrumental is stripped away entirely to leave McNown intricately whistling.
The Meaning:
“Leaves start falling when the cold wind blows
And soon get covered by the winter snow
The birds start singing when the spring rolls 'round
Flowers blooming through the thawing ground”
The autumnal feel of ‘A Lot More Free’ is established in the opening lines, with Max McNown describing the leaves falling and the weather taking a turn for the worse. The hostility of the season mirrors the sadness that accompanied a recent break-up.
McNown then gives this verse a more optimistic colour by depicting the birds singing cheerfully in the spring, and flowers finding their way through the icy ground when the temperature warms. This symbolises his newfound hope, which drives the chorus.
“When you love somebody and the love grows cold
The sun starts shining when you let it all go
There's a certain kinda hurting only time can heal
That's a pretty good picture of the way I feel”
The protagonist explains that, after the love turned cold - just like the winter weather in the opening verse - he realised that he had to let go of all the emotional baggage associated with it, in order to let the revitalising light and warmth back in.
“I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
I ain't sayin that you never took a toll on me
For what it's worth, I can finally see
That I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
Yeah, I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free”
Max McNown doesn't gloss over his feelings, as he admits he still carries some of the pain from the break-up. However, this is now diminished by the freedom he has learned to embrace.
“From this mountain, I can see so far
Rivers running like deep, deep scars
Carrying the lifeblood through my veins
Is it crazy that I'm grateful for all the pain?”
While in the first verse, Max McNown uses seasonally inspired pathetic fallacy to convey his emotions, here, McNown switches to a visceral tapestry of natural imagery.
He stands on a mountain, representing his sense of feeling ‘enlightened’ and mostly free from his past anguish, before likening the rivers he sees from his vantage-point to deep scars. Although the scars will be there forever, he can now see the beauty in them, as they serve as a reminder of a happy time that has come to an end. McNown concludes by expressing his gratitude for the pain of the break-up, as it has given him a new perspective and appreciation for his current place in life.
What has Max McNown said about ‘A Lot More Free’?
In a press release shared in tandem with his 2024 Wandering album announcement, Max McNown endearingly explained the role his mother plays in his creative process, “When I was younger I sang around the house all the time - I’d sing in the shower or before I went to bed, I’d always sing in the car. My mom used to tell us growing up that singing means you have a happy heart. Even if the song’s about something difficult or painful, I still have a happy heart when I sing”.
In a 2024 interview with The Honey Pop, Max McNown touched more specifically on ‘A Lot More Free’, “‘A Lot More Free’ was one of those songs that hit me deeply. It seems easy to claim after its success, but if you ask a few people who are close to me they’d tell you that after writing that song I was more excited than I’d ever been. My producer Steve Fee and I talked about how it was going to be “an anthem” for those who escaped a difficult relationship, and that seems to be true”.
For the full lyrics so far to Max McNown's ‘A Lot More Free’, see below:
“Leaves start falling when the cold wind blows
And soon get covered by the winter snow
The birds start singing when the spring rolls 'round
Flowers blooming through the thawing ground
-
When you love somebody and the love grows cold
The sun starts shining when you let it all go
There's a certain kinda hurting only time can heal
That's a pretty good picture of the way I feel
-
I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
I ain't sayin that you never took a toll on me
For what it's worth, I can finally see
That I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
Yeah, I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
-
From this mountain, I can see so far
Rivers running like deep, deep scars
Carrying the lifeblood through my veins
Is it crazy that I'm grateful for all the pain?
-
'Cause I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
I ain't sayin that you never took a toll on me
And for what it's worth, I can finally see
That I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free
Yeah, I'm a little bit hurt but a lot more free”
For more on Max McNown, see below:
