Ian Sweet’s newest offering, and fourth studio album Sucker, deals with relationships in various stages as the lithe vocalist whispers and weaves around electro intrusions and pop-focused sounds.
Feeling stuck in her home base of Los Angeles, Jillian Medford (who is the lone person behind Ian Sweet) crossed the country to an artist retreat in New York’s Catskill Mountains. There she felt relaxed and inspired to work with co-producers Alex Craig (Binki, Claud) and Isaac Eiger (Strange Ranger). The results are Sucker, the most pop-centric album of Ian Sweet’s career.
The trend was fairly clear in coming, with each passing record Medford has shifted towards more mainstream sounds. Fully embracing the break-up/hook-up dance-ready pattern (with slight distortion around the edges) Medford’s efforts are ready to be sung out over large speaker stacks instead of smaller indie rock clubs. The first single “Your Spit” shows the way with electro beats, distorted bass, and a bright finale that keeps the repetitive, makeout chorus ringing in your ears long after the track ends.
“Smoking Again” continues this trend with vibrant pop bouncing around the vibrating synths, as Medford deals with situationships ending, while the pain of breaking up with a loved one is expressed directly on “Bloody Knees”, a successful effort that takes Medford’s breathy, emotive vocals and pairs them with a piano to start before evolving into a multi-layered huge pop anthem. “Fight” seems custom-made for cell phone-lit arenas as it sways with ease while “Slowdance” lives up to its title admirably around vocal oohs and aahs.
Medford holds onto some dreamy indie-pop ideas as the first guitars show up during the title track which is lazy and drifting in comfortable fashion, warbling along the edges and showing some restraint, while “Comeback” also floats in these waters. “Emergency Contact” tries to bridge the gap between the out-and-out pop efforts and indie rock with synths, fuzz, and a pulsing ending but it ends up stuck in the middle and drags on too long while album closer “Hard” is successful in mixing these worlds via modern pop balladry, pianos, and swelling beats.
Medford has mentioned she had felt restrained at times with indie rock and this move into more pop-friendly areas allows her to be more creative. Sucker opens the door fully into the current pop landscape for Ian Sweet.
