Ian Sweet - Shiverstruck

Shiverstruck by Ian Sweet

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Released: July 24, 2026 on Polyvinyl Records

FFO: Cherry Glazerr, Vagabon, Empath, Samia, Hannah Jadagu, Speedy Ortiz, Bachelor

Your first song: Criminal Kissing

♫ Support: Bandcamp

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IAN SWEET is the indie project from Jilian Medford and Shiverstruck is her fifth album. 2021’s Show Me How You Disappear was my favorite album from that year and 2023’s Sucker was in the top 10 for that year.

From her press for this record:

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. These serve as the backdrop under which as IAN SWEET, has found its way into the world. Shiverstruck arrives from a place of deliberate separation. Where earlier works collapsed the distance between Jilian and IAN SWEET, this record gently reestablishes it.

The record also serves as her vehicle for taking control of her music in a male-dominated industry. Over the last few years she’s had to fight off AI generated songs being passed off as her own music on streaming platforms, her songs used in trailers without permission, and not receiving compensation for any of it.

Although these experiences proved frustrating, they clarified something: Medford would not ascribe to the unspoken expectation for women in music to stay agreeable and absorb the impact quietly.

In terms of my opinion on the album, I obviously had BIG expectations for the record based on my opinions of her past two releases. The songs continued the trajectory she started in the transition form Show Me How Your Disappear to Sucker, leaning more into the straight pop side of things vs. the bedroom/art pop/indie rock side of her older work. My favorite tracks on this new album are still the quirkier songs that made her so endearing in the past. The more pop-oriented songs are still worth your time, as she’s a very talented songwriter – I just happen to prefer most mainstream styles of music a little left of center.

Tracks

  1. 987
  2. Criminal Kissing ✨
  3. Silver Screen ✨
  4. Jilian
  5. Deadweight
  6. Shiverstruck
  7. Hired Gun
  8. La La Love
  9. Wild Heart ✨
  10. Speed Demon ✨

Videos