Prewn

Genre: alternative/folk Label: Exploding in Sound Records

Prewn, the new project of Izzy Hagerup, released her first full length album titled, Through The Window off of Exploding In Sound Records. Antagonized through a gritty soundscape, Hagerup takes on the role of writing, performing, recording and everything in between to make something remarkably eerie and genuine. Leaning into experience obtained from working with Kevin McMahon and his expansive psych-rock project, Pelican Movement, Hagerup is well crafted in pushing the boundaries of song structure and mood. Through the Window represents the conundrum of mortality, being both fragile and perverse, as Hagerup so poetically opens up the bottomless pit. Offering up some post-punk and folk tendencies, Through the Window is a haunted exposé in search to understand human instincts when face to face with death. 

Ghosts are summoned on the opening track, “The Machine”, as Hagerup touches on the scene of her own death. Starting with a sonically sparse landscape, Hagerup’s vocals are trailed by delayed harmonies as she sings of her soul leaving her body. The chorus rings, “sometimes I forgot that nothing matters” as the harmonies grow into a disadant climax and fade into nothing. Existential, yes. But in a sense, that nihilistic thought can bring comfort when everything else feels too consequential. 

The lead single, “But I Want More”, is somewhat of a plea for help. Told through the perspective of her father, diagnosed with Parkinson’s, who was isolated in a care home during the pandemic. Reminiscent of sludgy 90s folk stylings, the track extends itself into a sing-along brigade of hot-blooded phrases like “but I want more”. It is a song about utter seclusion and the effects that it can have on the human psyche and as the song grows and brittles out, Hagerup’s pure anger stands defiant and unwavering. 

One of Prewn’s draws is the way that Hagerup expels her voice over the eight tracks. Layered and lenient, Hagerup uses her voice as a tension point. Songs like “Alive” and “Sheila” are filled with vocal layers that expose themselves with every listen. “I’m Going to Fry All the Fish in the Sea”, reminiscent of a toil-n-trouble-esque marveling, Hagerup sings a roundabout melody about greed with lines like “I got what I want, I’ve got what I need / I fried all the fish in the motherfucking sea”. 

Gluttony is a very inadmissible humanistic instinct, and to which point will be the death of us all. On the song “Perfect World”, Hagerup sings of the evil that billionaires disperse onto our society. “It’s a perfect world and I’m murdering my children / It’s a perfect world and I just surpassed a billion”, she sings in the spirit of ignorance and corporate greed that contributes to the polluting of our earth and the exploitation of the lower class. Although “Perfect World” is one of the more lighter sounding songs on the album, with a finger-picked guitar and textures added through vocal arrangements, it doesn’t go without saying that there is a level of intensity that comes from Hagerup’s performance. 

In a very bold debut album, Prewn has shown the extent to which Hagerup’s honesty comes to touch upon human instincts. With dissident textures anchored to her voice and colorful intensity to an acoustic guitar, Through The Window stands as a shocking and unique new album that pushes our own understanding of what humans are capable of.