Ian Sweet – Shiverstruck
IAN SWEET—the project of Los Angeles-based musician Jilian Medford—announces her new album, Shiverstruck, out July 24th via Polyvinyl, and releases the lead single, “Criminal Kissing.” In conjunction, she announces a North American tour.
Today’s propulsive “Criminal Kissing” lead single explores the thrill of reliving nostalgic emotions for someone. On the song’s chorus, Medford sings: “I swear it’s not that precious // But you’re makin me feel restless // You know I miss it // Let’s just give in // Criminal kissin.” Medford elaborates on the track: “’Criminal Kissing’ is a love letter to making bad decisions. Like hooking up with your ex even though you’ll be left emotionally unraveling and picking up the pieces afterwards. Sometimes you just have to lean into the chaos spiral and see where it leads you.”
What began 10 years ago as a solo project that launched her to indie-critical-darling status, over time has evolved into something more atmospheric and less containable. There are stretches when the line between Jilian and IAN SWEET disappears entirely—this time around a very real life trifecta of battling industry pressures, the ending of a 3-year relationship, and a return to living in her native city of Los Angeles. Where earlier works collapsed the distance between Jilian and IAN SWEET, this record gently reestablishes it. The writing process became an act of surrender and an intentional relinquishing of control. Rather than meticulously sculpting every emotion, she allowed the songs to assume their own architecture. In doing so, she discovered a new softness—a compassion for herself that doesn’t require total collapse to feel human.
Shiverstruck was written during her second year living in New York City, a period that shaped her in ways both profound and messy. In 2023, to make ends meet amidst the increasingly unsustainable economies of touring and streaming as an independent musician, Medford put her strengths as a songwriter to the test, taking an unexpected job working with children. “Watching children respond to music for the first time; their faces lighting up completely unselfconscious, it rewires your brain as a songwriter and steers you more towards honesty. Everything felt immediate and real.”
“It was the hardest I’ve worked and ruminated on lyrics,” explains Medford. “The writing was the heart of everything and had to feel really grounded. I put in crazy amounts of time and energy to make them feel like the truest reflection of who I am and where I’m at in my life right now.” By the time she got to Maze Studios in Atlanta to work with producer Ben H. Allen (Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Soccer Mommy), the foundations were already solid. From there, Medford and Allen worked together with drummer Harold Brown and engineer Ben Etter to build them into ten thoughtfully constructed tracks.
Across her career, Medford has cultivated a body of work defined by emotional precision and dynamic force—guitars that lurch from whisper to rupture, melodies that carry both ache and defiance. Her songs interrogate identity not as a fixed condition, but as something negotiated daily. Often associated with a lineage of confessional indie rock, she has been labeled a “sad girl,” an archetype she once embraced, whether as armor or proof of depth. But her trajectory has never been about sadness itself; it has been about understanding it, metabolizing it, and ultimately refusing to be reduced by it.
IAN SWEET will support American Football on their North American tour this July prior to her North American tour. Tickets for the newly announced headline tour go on sale Friday, April 24th at 10am local time.
IAN SWEET Tour Dates:
(New dates in bold)
Wed. July 8 – Boston, MA @ Royale +
Thu. July 9 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount +
Fri. July 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall +
Sat. July 11 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club + [SOLD OUT]
Sun. July 12 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club +
Tue. July 14 – Richmond, VA @ The National +
Wed. July 15 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel + [SOLD OUT]
Thu. July 16 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse +
Fri. July 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bob Baker Theater [Album Release Show]
Thu. Oct. 15 – Portsmouth, NH @ The Press Room
Fri. Oct. 16 – Brattleboro, VT @ The Stone Church
Sat. Oct. 17 – Montreal, QC @ La Sotterenea
Sun. Oct. 18 – Toronto, ON @ The Baby G
Tue. Oct. 20 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme
Wed. Oct. 21 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Thu. Oct. 22 – Milwaukee, WI @ Falcon Bowl
Fri. Oct. 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
Sat. Oct. 24 – Eau Claire, WI @ The Plus
Mon. Oct. 26 – Nashville, TN @ Drkmttr
Wed. Oct. 28 – Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
Tue. Nov. 3 – Seattle, WA @ Baba Yaga
Wed. Nov. 4 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
Fri. Nov. 6 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord
+ w/ American Football
#ian_sweeeeet