[1] Although she spent several years away from recording, Hawkins continued to write and did not want to release new music until she felt like she had a sufficiently strong collection of songs.

[1][4] These tracks were written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, demoed, and brought to Ken Rich to finish, with Hawkins co-producing the album.

[5] Writing for Renowned for Sound, Matt Say calls this album "is a triumphant example of some of her best work yet" and "a brilliant addition to the rich back catalogue that Sophie B. Hawkins has created in her storied career".

[6] In an interview for Songwriter Universe, Dale Kawashima calls Free Myself "a strong return for Hawkins... with several that rank among her best".

[4] Writing for Patch.com, Matt Schinella writes that the album was "eloquently engineered and produced by Ken Rich" and "the songs often offer fragility and beauty, highlighting Hawkins' strong vocals and musicianship and lyrical love twists".