Prewn - Through The Window (Blue Vinyl)

Izzy Hagerup has been kicking around the songs that make up Prewn’s debut album for the better part of a decade. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit however that she really had the seclusion needed to complete them. With a chance 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.” While the recordings have sat semi-completed, Prewn has grown to become one of Western Massachusetts’ most in-demand bands, the line-up expanding to include Mia Huggs (bass), Calvin Parent (guitar), Karl Helander (drums). With full band recordings set to come in the future, Through The Window is an intimate introduction to the project, capturing a place and time, the songs urgently needing to find their way out.