[as seen on Stereogum]

Izzy Hagerup has a chill-inducing voice, which is why I am completely consumed every time I hear her release a song under her project Prewn. The Los Angeles-based musician’s 2023 debut album Through The Window solidified her as a singer-songwriter whose voice is equally as sharp as her words, like PJ Harvey or Adrianne Lenker. Today, she’s returned with a new single “System,” and, hallelujah, the announcement of her sophomore follow-up System, out Oct. 3.

“System” opens with menacing see-sawing strings that chug on with a gritty resilience. Initially, Hagerup submits to malaise. “I don’t know how to move/ I’m giving into the fear again,” she sings. “It seems that misery’s my best friend/ And it will come to me again and again.” Her voice is pained yawn. But as we near two minutes, the song undoes itself, opening up with bright, twangy guitars and tambourine. When the chorus arrives, it’s watershed catharsis: Prewn acknowledges her cyclical pain, but won’t be weighed down by it.

In a press release, Hagerup detailed writing the sing. “When I wrote ‘System’ I was supposed to be present and alive and gracious and happy. But somehow I couldn’t escape my own internal fears and depression that can follow me wherever I go.”

On the album, she added: “This new album comes from a much more self-centered place, the stagnant aftermath of intensity and emotion.” She continued, “I think it came from a period of time that was more numb, hollow, and confused. More disassociated from heartfelt pain, more entrenched in a frustrating and aimless discomfort.”

The song comes with a gorgeous video directed by Sophie Feuer. In the black and white visual, Hagerup sings crouched on the floor, a girl places with her pet bird, a man holds a baby, and a myriad of individuals stare at the camera. Life passing them all by. Watch it below.