SUCKER, by IAN SWEET

SUCKER

by IAN SWEET

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Ash McAuliffe-Shave Ian Sweet's new album is an absolute masterpiece, a captivating blend of emotion and melody that's impossible to resist. Up there as a true musical highlight of 2023. Favorite track: FIGHT.

Supercompressor Man, this album has been a total sideswipe. Wasn't prepared for how much I'd enjoy this. Received it with the Polyvinyl subscription, but would absolutely pay for it. Stacked album with no misses. Would recommend a listen. Favorite track: FIGHT.

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1.	Bloody Knees 04:40		buy track
2.	Smoking Again 04:16 video	lyrics	buy track
Talkin on the phone In the dark You’re whisperin for some reason Like you’re tryin to keep a secret Locked up safe and sound Don’t want word to get around Locked up safe and sound Don’t want word to get around Oh i’ve been a mess Haven’t slept Started smoking again And i’m tryin to grow my hair out But i keep cuttin my bangs Everytime you say my name Let me see your hands Oh where have they been You’ve been holdin onto hers You’ve been playin in the dirt Tangled up with the worms Locked up safe and sound Don’t want word to get around Locked up safe and sound Don’t want word to get around Oh i’ve been a mess Haven’t slept Started smoking again And i’m tryin to grow my hair out But i keep cuttin my bangs Everytime you say my name Baby we don’t talk about it Well i’m tryin to forget it happened Baby we don’t talk about it Well i’m tryin to forget it happened Oh i’ve been a mess Haven’t slept Started smoking again And i’m tryin to grow my hair out But i keep cuttin my bangs Everytime you say my name
3.	Emergency Contact 05:02 video	lyrics	buy track
I stopped writing you down As my emergency contact I bet you’re glad that you don’t have To come runnin Everytime i fall back The light it out in my kitchen But i’m still washin the dishes Avoiding all existence And it gets so dark sometimes But I keep you out of sight Not read to see what i’m missin I don’t mind I don’t mind I don’t wanna get it right I don’t mind I don’t mind I don’t wanna get it right This time I cry cry cry in the shower Tears and water Are no different And i could call you i know you’d listen But i keep you at a safe distance Park my car On your street I heard that song and had to scream I made too many enemies So i’ll leave this city Or keep runnin No slowin down or givin in At least until the drugs kick in I don’t mind I don’t mind I don’t wanna get it right I don’t mind I don’t mind I don’t wanna get it right This time I watched you like an instant classic Memorized every line, every scene Act it out in my sleep Rewind and repeat Someone else can watch you now Cuz it can’t be me I don’t mind I don’t mind I don’t wanna get it right I don’t mind I don’t mind I don’t wanna get it right This time
4.	Sucker 04:28		buy track
5.	Comeback 03:47		buy track
6.	Your Spit 03:25 video	lyrics	buy track
In the backseat On the highway Going 105 You’re lookin in the rearview You got the clearview You want me for your whole life I know i’m not makin sense I know i stop mid sentence And pretend i forget What i’m gonna say It’s cuz i’m afraid It’s cuz i’m afraid But if you Kiss me like you mean it Kiss me like you’re leavin You’re spit tastes different Kiss me like you mean it Make me believe it Make me believe it In the distance There’s somethin missin Tongue tied like a knot Can’t get the words out I need a minute Or a million To tell you how i’m feelin now I know i’m not makin sense I know i stop mid sentence And pretend i forget What i’m gonna say It’s cuz i’m afraid This will all go away But if you Kiss me like you mean it Kiss me like you’re leavin You’re spit tastes different Kiss me like you mean it Make me believe it Make me believe it
7.	Clean 03:54		buy track
8.	FIGHT 03:32		buy track
9.	Slowdance 03:37		buy track
10.	Hard 05:06		buy track

about

SUCKER, Jillian Medford's fourth album as IAN SWEET, is a massive leap forward for the songwriter and pop auteur. Perfectly merging her recently showcased pop sensibilities with the widescreen indie rock that she first made her name on, SUCKER is both sumptuous and fully realized, as Medford digs her hands into tough questions about looking ahead and personal growth. Her musical voice has only become more unique amidst an ever-growing field, and SUCKER is proof positive that even with a considerable discography in her arsenal, Medford is just getting started.

SUCKER follows Medford’s 2021 breakthrough and Polyvinyl debut Show Me How You Disappear, which chronicled her time spent in an intensive outpatient program that included six hours of group therapy a day. “Show Me How You Disappear was written during a really difficult period of my life after reckoning with a mental health crisis,” she explains. “I survived that very moment in my life through writing that record, and the extreme urgency to heal is reflected in the songwriting. With SUCKER, I felt more capable to take my time and experiment without being totally afraid of the outcome. It wasn't life or death—it was just life, and I was lucky to be living it.”

Work on the new album started in the fall of 2022; feeling newly untethered in the wake of a "COVID relationship" that had recently come to pass, Medford took a cross-country road trip from her L.A. home to an artist residency at The Outlier Inn – a New York Catskills based recording studio where she took up residence to demo and produce SUCKER in full. “I was feeling very stuck in L.A. and was trying to get comfortable with spending more time alone again,” she recalls about her hermetic confines, which included 24-hour studio access to create in an unfettered fashion. “I went there not knowing exactly what I wanted to do or make, but I knew I wanted to explore and get out of my comfort zone. I forced myself to make things on the spot, in the moment and not overthink it too much.”

Feeling inspired, Medford brought her demos to life with co-producers Alex Craig (Binki, Claud) and Strange Ranger's Isaac Eiger along with mixing engineer Al Carlson (St. Vincent, Jessica Pratt), all of whom helped shape SUCKER into its current form—a record that reconciles Medford’s beginnings with where she’s landed at this current moment. “I revisited the reasons why I started playing music to begin with,” she explains. “I wanted to get more personal and showcase a more confident side musically and lyrically. I’ve always been very doubtful about my own work and don’t often share it with a lot of people. But there was something about this record where I felt very secure with what I was writing about and wanted everyone to hear.”

The result: ten songs that count as the strongest Medford’s ever put to tape, bringing to mind the guitar heroics of indie rock legends Broken Social Scene, the searing hooks of ‘90s alternative rock, Leslie Feist’s dusky songwriting, and shoegaze’s warmth. The quietly explosive title track is practically a miniature epic, with oceanic guitars rippling behind Medford’s tactile vocals, while first single “Your Spit” swerves and sways with a distinctly pop gait that packs a punch.

“Sometimes I get imposter syndrome when I write poppier music, because of who people assume I actually am as a musician, and where they’d like me to fit in in the ‘indie’ space.” she says while talking about the song’s sound as well as navigating the expectations that come with being boxed in genre-wise. “I think the indie rock world really feeds off trauma. If you’re not going through something terrible, people are like, ‘What’s the story?’ That’s fucked me up a bit, but it’s a really beautiful thing when you’re feeling healthy and it shows in your music, too — and I don’t want to be forced into any narrative.”

Indeed, SUCKER showcases Medford’s ability to push herself into previously unexplored territory: The arpeggiated and dusky beauty of “Emergency Contact” belies the songs’ biting sarcasm, as Medford reflects on codependency and a recent breakup that forced her to recognize destructive patterns she willingly—and sometimes, purposefully—falls into in spite of her best interests. “There’s some sneering energy to it, as I’m trying to convince myself that I didn’t really want what I had lost anyway,” she says. Then there’s the surging and anthemic “Smoking Again,” which Medford describes with a laugh as “pretty dramatic” before breaking down the song’s all-too-relatable themes: “I often put myself in situations that I know won’t be beneficial to me, just to get a rise out of myself. Almost like setting up obstacles just to see if I could overcome them.”

The disorienting sensation of falling in love and staying in love appears throughout SUCKER, but this isn’t a break up album so much as it is a reclamation album. “I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself over the years, and with this record I think the intention was to let go and put more trust in myself,” Medford states while discussing how this splendid album represents where she’s at as an artist—and SUCKER feels like the culmination of her personal and professional accomplishments so far, as well as the first step in a bold and exciting new future for IAN SWEET as a whole.

credits

released November 3, 2023

All songs written by IAN SWEET
Produced by Alex Craig and IAN SWEET
Additional production by Isaac Eiger
Live Drums by Dan Howard
Engineered by Eamon Ford
Mastering by Joe LaPorta
Cover Photo by Lucy Sandler
Design & Layout by Alexa Viscius
Song Titles Lettering by Becca Christman

license

about

IAN SWEET

</3 </3 </3
iansweetmusic@gmail.com
mgmt:
justin@outofofficemgmt.com
us pr: jacob@pitchperfectpr.com
uk pr: michelle.kambasha@s-414.com
us booking: max@anniversarygroup.com ... more

iansweetmusic.com

shows

Apr 18

X-Ray Arcade

Cudahy, WI
Apr 19

High Noon Saloon

Madison, WI
Apr 20

First Avenue

Minneapolis, MN
Apr 23

Englert Theatre

Iowa City, IA
Apr 24

recordBar

Kansas City, MO
Apr 26

Aggie Theater

Fort Collins, CO
Apr 27

Fox Theatre

Boulder, CO
Apr 28

Meow Wolf

Santa Fe, NM
May 1

Scoot Inn

Austin, TX
May 3

Club Congress - Outdoor Plaza

Tucson, AZ
May 4

Belly Up Tavern

Solana Beach, CA
May 10

Brain Dead Studios

Los Angeles (LA), CA
May 11

The Chapel

San Francisco, CA
May 16

Wonder Ballroom

Portland, OR
May 18

Showbox at the Market

Seattle, WA
May 30

Royale Boston

Boston, MA
Jun 1

Higher Ground

South Burlington, VT
Jun 10

Broadberry Theatre

Richmond, VA
Jun 12

Terminal West

Atlanta, GA
Jun 16

9:30 Club

Washington, DC
Jun 18

123 Pleasant Street

Morgantown, WV
Jun 19

Electric City

Buffalo, NY
Jun 21

Portland House of Music & Events (HOME)

Portland, ME
Jun 22

Glen Falls House

Catskill, NY
Oct 13

Prachtwerk

Berlin, Germany
Oct 14

Le Botanique

Brussels, Belgium
Oct 15

Supersonic

Paris, France
Oct 16

VERA

Groningen, Netherlands
Oct 17

Left of the Dial

Rotterdam, Netherlands
Oct 22

The Lexington

London, UK

discography

SUCKER

Nov 2023
STAR STUFF

Jul 2022
FIGHT

May 2022
f*ckthat

Sep 2021

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