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.
For the past decade, the New Orleans band Lawn has thrived on the palpable chemistry between co-lead singers and songwriters Mac Folger and Rui De Magalhaes. Though each boasts distinct sensibilities—Folger’s songs are breezy, jangly, and personal while De Magalhaes’ are biting and propulsive post-punk—they’ve seamlessly blended their idiosyncratic styles over three unassailable indie rock full-lengths, while becoming a fixture in a thriving New Orleans scene, and sharing stages with artists like Momma, Hovvdy and Omni.
De Magalhaes had moved to Chicago following the release of the 2022 Bigger Sprout, and released an acclaimed solo LP under the name Rui Gabriel via Carpark Records, which earned praise from folks like Pitchfork, Stereogum and Paste.
In May, the band announced their signing to Exploding In Sound and shared a single entitled "Sports Gun." Today, the band are returning to share announce their 4th LP God Made The Highway, which will be released on Exploding In Sound on September 19th. To mark the announce the band are sharing a new single called "Davie."
While their latest, God Made the Highway, is their most confident, energetic, and cohesive yet, it’s also the product of distance. De Magalhaes had moved to Chicago following the release of the 2022 Bigger Sprout, while Folger stayed in Louisiana. Despite being apart, the two still found their relentlessly collaborative spark through remote writing, ample voice memos, and a blistering studio session. These 11 urgent and inviting tracks are a testament to their enduring friendship.
When De Magalhaes lived in Chicago (he moved back to New Orleans this year), it marked the first time he had been states away from Folger since they formed the band in 2016. “I didn't know how writing new music was going to work out, because Mac and I couldn't practice with the distance between us,” says De Magalhaes. “I put out my solo record as Rui Gabriel and playing guitar was weird because I didn't have Mac as a reference anymore. I leaned on writing very bass-heavy riffs and adding drum machines.” Two ideas required help from Lawn’s drummer Mark Edlin (Hovvdy), and the two hit the studio with engineer Greg Obis (Stuck). When Folger received the demos, he decided to write parts over them. “Rui would text me the voice memo, and I would go into the studio and plug my phone into the PA so it felt like we were in the practice space together,” Folger says. “From there, we just started sending each other voice memos of different song ideas.”
As the tracklist came together, they booked recording time with the full band—drummer Edlin and guitarist Nick Corson (The Convenience, Video Age) at Chicago’s Palisades studios.
Where previous Lawn LPs were home-recorded, this marked the first time the band had tracked an LP in a real studio. They had also never recorded without fully rehearsing and tour-testing each new song. “We had to get everything done in three days, but it felt very natural even if it was a new thing for us,” says De Magalhaes. Folger credits the camaraderie between the band with getting them through. “Our bandmates Nick and Mark have been in our lives for basically 10 years, he says. “I just felt very comfortable. We tried to overdub certain things, but it was just never the same vibe. We wanted it to keep this loose and spontaneous rather than tidy.”
"Davie" exemplifies this effortlessly laid back approach, and the camaraderie the band shares. Written by Folger, the song is a crystalline power pop gem, about the early days of the band, when they were living in a crumbling house in New Orleans.
Folger says of the track:
Davie is the name of our landlord back in 2016-2017, after college. The song is about that time in our lives. The house was in Hollygrove, New Orleans. It was big and beautiful and falling apart. You could see the dirt through the floorboards in some places, and anything that could break did. The landlord was the type of guy who acted cool and was always high, but in the end, he totally sucked and took all our deposit money. We started Lawn in that house, recording most of the first EP and LP in the living room with our friend Ross (Video Age). We made barely any money working at restaurants, and frequently had bands stay with us for multiple days at a time (this is how we met Mark Edlin, who plays drums on the record and live). Substance use and trying to rock and roll were at an all-time high. The first few weeks in the house, we would regularly spend what little money we had on beers, sit in lawn chairs in an unfurnished living room, and jam while we just sort of shot the shit and played music. Every day held the pursuit of cool, every night we all came back to the same historically preserved shithole. In retrospect, it’s hard to say if they were the worst or the best times, but they were very meaningful.
NYC fuzz rock tag team, Jobber, recently announced their debut album, Jobber To The Stars, and today they're back with another gigantic new single "Pillman's Got A Gun." Due out August 22nd via Exploding In Sound Records, Jobber To The Stars combines massive guitars and sugary melodies with the larger than life themes of professional wrestling to make an album that's sure to please fans of the squared circle and rockers alike.
"Pillman's Got A Gun" follows lead single "Nightmare" (which garnered attention from Stereogum, Paste Magazine, BrooklynVegan, and more) and offers Jobber's version of a power ballad, albeit drenched in distortion and paying tribute to one of wrestling's greatest madmen.
Kate Meizner discussed the new song, saying:
"The song grew out of my profound appreciation and fascination with Pillman after learning more about his iconic moments and his life. Some references are overt, but his story made me think a lot about how the pressure that comes with cultivating a chaotic persona can trap you in a cycle of constantly trying to outdo yourself.
For the video, we went all out to celebrate Pillman by building a shrine filled with artifacts honoring his life and memory. I shared the idea with my friend Brittany Reeber, who is an incredible director, and she had amazing, creative suggestions to use production design, choreography, and mysterious, atmospheric elements to bring the concept to another level. She also brought in Jayne Clark (production designer) to make the shrine look beautiful and spooky while also incorporating all sorts of fun Pillman easter eggs for wrestling fans to hunt for (a Hart foundation teddy bear, action figures, and his ‘screw you' sunglasses, to name a few).”
Nearly two months after the release of Lawn's new single "Sports Gun" and the news that the band have joined Exploding In Sound Records, comes the song's official music video! Directed by Zack Shorrosh, the clip is part grainy performance footage and part textural art instillation. It's a gorgeous clip that brings added life to the band's latest radiant post-punk ripper. The New Orleans' based band will be hitting the road this Fall playing both headline shows and supporting Momma. Check out all the dates below.
For the past decade, the New Orleans band Lawn has thrived on the palpable chemistry between co-lead singers and songwriters Mac Folger and Rui De Magalhaes. Though each boasts distinct sensibilities—Folger’s songs are breezy, jangly, and personal while De Magalhaes’ are biting and propulsive post-punk—they’ve seamlessly blended their idiosyncratic styles over three unassailable indie rock full-lengths, while becoming a fixture in a thriving New Orleans scene, and sharing stages with artists like Momma, Hovvdy and Omni.
Engineered by Greg Obis (of Stuck) at Chicago's Palisades Studio and mixed by Dave Vettraino (Melkbelly, Deeper), “Sports Gun” simmers with intensity thanks to its pummeling bass riff, layers of feedback-laden guitars. It’s galvanizing, loud, and unrelenting.
UPCOMING SHOWS:
09/13 - Atlanta, GA @ Star Bar 09/14 - Nashville, TN @ The East Room 09/15 - Indianapolis, IN @ Hi-Fi* 09/16 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave Bar* 09/17 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean (Basement) 09/18 - Champaign, IL @ Pygmalion Fest* 09/19 - Kansas City, MO @ Bottleneck* 09/20 - St Louis, MO @ Old Rock House* 10/17 - New York, NY @ Night Club 101 w/ Foyer Red
Jobber have returned to the ring! The NYC-based fuzz rock tag team have announced their debut album, Jobber To The Stars, due out August 22nd via Exploding In Sound Records. Packing massive guitars, sugary melodies, and a larger than life personality, the band combines crunchy '90s alt rock with professional wrestling themes to make an album that's sure to please fans of the squared circle and rockers alike.
To celebrate the announcement, Jobber have shared the LP's first single, "Nightmare" and its extremely fun accompanying music video starring wrestler "Iron" Rip Byson. Built around a bouncy riff and guitarist/vocalist Kate Meizner's clever melodies, the song is an arena-sized stomper that's guaranteed to get the adrenaline pumping.
Meizner discussed the new song, saying:
“I wrote this song back in 2021 when I wanted to quit my day job, but felt really, really stuck. Companies were doing mass layoffs, cutting benefits, and the job market was garbage, so it felt like a risk to make a move and leave. I wanted to capture that feeling of paralysis: when you know you need to let go of something terrible for you (and the world!), but the decision involves so much risk that fear keeps you rooted in place. It’s like a nightmare where you’re trying to escape from a monster that’s trying to destroy you, but your legs are cement – you just 'can’t seem to run.' Sonically, I was really going for a power pop feel, with the Moog, sugary melody, and groove. I think I was listening to 'Waiting' by the Rentals on repeat at the time. Mike Falcone (drummer), Justin Pizzoferrato (engineer), and we had a fun time capturing that sound and playing with different flourishes like claps, 'woo-hoos' or hard panned guitar textures."
In 2022 Jobber released their debut EP, Hell In A Cell, drawing acclaim from the likes of Stereogum, The FADER, BrooklynVegan, FLOOD Magazine, Paste Magazine, Bandcamp Daily, Uproxx, Alternative Press, and many more. Now Jobber To The Stars picks up where they left off with eleven songs that hit harder than a chair shot to the head.
Jobber—Meizner, drummer-vocalist Michael Falcone, guitarist-keyboardist Michael Julius, and bassist Miles Toth—recorded the album with Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr, Krill, Pixies) and Aron Kobayashi Ritch (Momma, Hotline TNT, Squirrel Flower), and it explodes from the speakers with track after track of heavy guitars and effortless power pop hooks. Lyrically Meizner explores parallels between professional wrestling and the frustrations of what she calls the "mundane and very serious struggles under capitalism." The songs are packed with bite, melody, humor, and brains, all delivered with the visceral fun of a wrestling match, transcending the glam and the gimmicks to tap into something very real.
