by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
It was an immersive experience in the studio that lead to Izzy Hagerup completing Prewn’s debut album, spending time in seclusion, forcing herself to expand on her ideas, to push through mental blocks. As a member of Kevin McMahon’s expansive psych ensemble Pelican Movement, the producer (whose credits include Widowspeak, Titus Andronicus, Pile) invited Hagerup to use his otherwise empty studio during the pandemic lockdown to devote herself to writing and recording. The results are staggeringly beautiful and triumphantly visceral. Those sessions along with some home-recorded additions arrive as Through The Window, a solo record that finds Hagerup handling the entirety of the instrumentation, bringing her songs to life with a personal touch. While Prewn has since expanded into a quartet, there’s an immediacy and earnest nature to the solo recordings. Captured with brilliantly engaging vocal performances, structures that unfold piece by piece, and a sense of unnerving fragility that’s paired with a reckless resolve, the control in Hagerup’s delivery and compositions are astounding from start to finish.
“But I Want More” is the record’s first single, a perfect introduction to Prewn’s sound, equal parts sinewy alternative rock and experimental-leaning psych folk. The song takes many shapes, weaving a path that seems to render heartbreak in its various stages. As the song opens with a minimal guitar strum and an understated simplicity, the arrangement slowly begins to open, raw emotion leading to heavier progressions and haunting sentiment. There’s a groove that resides deep in the pocket, but the song maintains mood over all else. Things aren’t great and there’s no reason to sugarcoat it. Hagerup wrote the song from the perspective of her father, whose lifelong battle with Parkinson’s disease was made even more tragic during Covid as he was quarantined away from family in a nursing home for over a year. Each lyric stings a bit more as Hagerup describes both preventative care and the failure of one’s own faculties. It’s crushing and brutal in sentiment, but there’s a beautiful tribute that comes with it, as those we can’t be near remain forever loved in our thoughts.
Prewn’s Through The Window is out August 25th via Exploding In Sound Records.
Upcoming Shows:
07/16 - Brooklyn, NY @ The Terrarium
07/23 - Florence, MA @ The Marigold w/ Shady Bug, Gold Setter, & Sleep Destroyer
Disclaimer: When I started writing this premiere, Exploding In Sound Records had no involvement in the release. It’s only through my sheer love of Prewn’s music that I’ve become lucky enough to work together with the band. We’re trying to share the music we love, and we happen to love this record a whole lot.