Prewn is the musical project of Massachusetts-based Izzy Hagerup, and System is her sophomore album, building on the DIY spirit of her debut. Hagerup shares, “I think a large continuity of the songs lies in the amateur quality of them. I’m a sucker for an imperfect recording.” System finds Hagerup refining the raw textures showcased on her debut, Through The Window, while exploring richer instrumental arrangements. The album’s lo-fi aesthetics complement Hagerup’s unfiltered approach to songwriting. This uncompromising ethos runs through every track, confidently laying emotion bare.
“Easy” opens the album with Prewn’s fierce intensity, which echoes throughout the record. There’s a conveyed fire in the belly, bubbling just beneath a surface that feels barely held together. The lyrics lean on the metaphor of something stuck in your shoe, constantly reminding you it’s there. Continuing to walk with this uncomfortable presence, hoping it will eventually go away, reflects an acceptance that the world keeps spinning, with or without you. The next track “Commotion” feels initially lighter than the album’s opener; Hagerup’s shaky vocals guide you through a quick two-minute spell. Lyrically, it’s a visceral portrayal of someone unraveling, caught between how they’re perceived and how they truly feel, desperate to break free from emotional numbness.
The album’s title track, “System,” layers heavy strings to stamp an internal heaviness, eventually climaxing in an anthemic finish during the song’s second half. Prewn strips the sound back again in “It’s Only You,” a song about falling in love for the first time. Hagerup further shares that it’s also about “being skeptical of the experience – What’s you, what’s me? What’s projection? What’s love vs. attachment? We never really get to the bottom of it in this one.” This thread continues in “My Side,” an ode to the tension between craving intimacy and embracing solitude as a form of survival.
“Forgot” effortlessly slips us into a haunting melody, mapping a slow unraveling through the image of a leaking ceiling that culminates in rivers. It’s a meditation on push-and-pull relationships, where Prewn considers the coexistence of complicated emotions and again wonders whether isolation might offer relief. That emotional tension carries into “Dirty Dog,” which showcases Prewn’s knack for roughing up a song, cranking distorted vocals to overdrive, while still locking into a groove around the two-minute mark. “Cavity” picks up that raw energy, layering more textures and a laid-back but firm vocal delivery to carve a path forward through bleak, vulnerable moments. The final track, “Don’t Be Scared,” brings the album to a close with a sense of persistence through the pain of loss. Backed by a pensive guitar line and a swelling orchestra of strings, it offers a quiet resolution: the numbness begins to lift, and the only choice left is to look forward.
Ultimately, System is a testament to Izzy Hagerup’s uncompromising artistry and creativity. The album moves seamlessly from the fierce intensity of “Easy” and “Dirty Dog” to the introspective calm of “It’s Only You” and “Commotion,” proving that authenticity can exist in both distortion and restraint. By embracing the DIY-esuqe quality she loves, Prewn crafts a record that is rough around the edges but true.
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