Ian Sweet – Jilian
IAN SWEET—the project of Los Angeles-based musician Jilian Medford—releases “Jilian,” the second single from her new album, Shiverstruck, out July 24th via Polyvinyl.
Following the lead single “Criminal Kissing,” “a sweetly nostalgic tumble into hooking back up with an ex,” (The Needle Drop), “Jilian” is the album’s focal point, written by Medford in tribute to all of the pitfalls and lessons learned from her time living in New York. Medford’s voice is an instant earworm over instrumentation that feels simultaneously anthemic and bittersweet: “Jilian // Go on and tell em // That you’re sick of it // Sad singer // Such an idiot // Bad sex and cigarettes // Oh it’s a cruel world you’re living in.”
Medford elaborates: “‘Jilian’ is about the small mistakes that somehow make life feel both cruel and hilarious at the same time. Over the past few years, I’ve struggled to understand who I am when everything familiar feels farther away. This song became me speaking directly to myself, calling myself out and finally saying the things out loud that I’ve been avoiding. It’s about realizing I’m still still here and there’s still so much life left to live. This song feels like hitting the reset button.”
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. 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. Her trajectory has never been about sadness itself; it has been about understanding it, metabolizing it, and ultimately refusing to be reduced by it.
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.” 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.
IAN SWEET will support American Football on the east coast this July prior to her headlining North American tour.
IAN SWEET Tour Dates:
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 – Battleboro, 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