Prewn AKA: Izzy Hagerup has been writing the songs that make up her debut LP for a long time. It wasn’t until the pandemic, that she really had the seclusion needed to complete them. With an opportunity to write and record at Kevin McMahon’s (Swans, The Walkmen, Pile) Marcata Studio during lock-downs, she was able to focus without distraction, bringing her ideas to life. As a member of McMahon’s Pelican Movement collective the two already had a positive working relationship, and this was a chance for Hagerup to temporarily remove herself from daily life in Northampton to create without distraction at a difficult time. She’d spend the day writing, working to weave ideas into solid threads, watching the pieces come into place during productive uninterrupted sessions. She describes the immersive time spent in the studio as “life changing,” in large part due to the pure isolation where “creating was the focus and I could really be alone, leading me to find myself more prolific than I ever thought I could be.” The results are staggeringly beautiful and triumphantly visceral. Speaking about the process, Hagerup shared, “these were some of the most rewarding, exciting days in my musical life. I learned that so much of writing a song is just pushing through all the mental blocks and fears and judgements that get in the way.”

Those sessions along with some home-recorded additions (later mixed and mastered by McMahon) came to be Through The Window, Prewn’s debut album, performed entirely by Izzy Hagerup, bringing her songs to life with a distinctive touch. Due out August 25th via Exploding In Sound Records (Pile, Ovlov, Floatie), there’s an immediacy and earnest nature to the solo recordings, at its core it’s an outpouring of unfiltered ideas and emotions. Captured with brilliantly engaging vocal performances, structures that unfold piece by piece, and a sense of unnerving fragility paired with a reckless resolve, the control in Hagerup’s delivery and compositions are astounding.

Through The Window was built on a disposition that could often be described as bleak, but Hagerup isn’t crippled by the weight. Lead single “But I Want More” explores her dad’s battle with Parkinson’s disease, something he’s struggled with her entire life, and the increased seclusion from his family resulting from the pandemic. As motor functions come and go with the ailment, the reality of it became increasingly hard to stomach for Hagerup, but there’s a sincerity in her reflections.“To witness his entrapment by his own body on top of such severe isolation during covid,” Hagerup shared, “was just enough to turn a highly detached gal into one with real feeling, enough feeling to even write a song that I really, really mean.”

Prewn’s line-up has expanded to include Mia Huggs (bass), Calvin Parent (guitar), Karl Helander (drums). With full band recordings set to come in the future, Through The Window.

Prewn
Through The Window
Exploding In Sound
Tracklisting

1. Machine
2. But I Want More
3. Alive
4. Woman
5. I’m Gonna Fry All The Fish In The Sea
6. Perfect World
7. Sheila
8. Burning Up

UPCOMING SHOWS:
07/16 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Terrarium
07/23 – Easthampton, MA @ Marigold Theatre w/ Shady Bug

Pre-order Through The Window by Prewn HERE