IAN SWEET‘s great fourth album, SUCKER, is out today – you can read our review in Notable Releases, and stream it below. To celebrate its release, we asked Jillian Medford to tell us about what influenced it, and she made us a list of five albums. Read that, complete with her commentary, below.
IAN SWEET’S FIVE ALBUMS THAT INFLUENCED – SUCKER
Broken Social Scene – You Forgot It In People
I have always loved BSS but I went kind of obsessive/stalker mode the last year over them. I think “Lover’s Spit” was my top listened to song all year. BSS has a way of transporting me straight to my teen years and pulling out a crazy kind of nostalgia in me. I can immediately be taken back to a specific time and remember everything so vividly. Their music is really visceral which felt so comforting while i was writing SUCKER. Felt like I was always right where I wanted to be when listening to this record. Even if I was listening in my car, I felt like I was sitting on the steps outside my high school at dusk with my best friends laughing about some stupid joke… just happy to be alive. I just love them and all they do, all the iterations. but You Forgot it in People hit me like a ton of bricks.
Life Without Buildings – Any Other City
Every time I show this band to someone who’s never heard them… they fall in LOVE and can’t stop listening. Life Without Buildings only made 1 record but that record is always on repeat and one of my top favorites. Sue Tompkins, the lead singer of the band, really inspired me to sing with Joy and be more confident in my voice and delivery. Her style is much more spoken word than IAN SWEET but her jubilant delivery… even when the lyrics may be a bit more sad or melancholic was a true inspiration, especially for the vocals on SUCKER.
Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head
Well… DUH! This wouldn’t be an IAN SWEET interview without mentioning Coldplay. My favorite Coldplay albums change all the time though. For Show Me How You Disappear I was leaning much more into Parachutes, but for SUCKER, A Rush of a Blood to the Head (especially the live album) was a huge inspo. Hearing “In my Place” live gives me shivers every time. Coldplay always inspires me to not be afraid of the anthemic chorus, to embrace it and run with it. It’s so cathartic to lean into repetition and have a song build, grow and bloom as you circle around a phrase again and again, learning something new from it every time.
Brian Eno – Another Green World
If I ever get married lol…I want my walking down the aisle song to be “I’ll Come Running.” This is the best love song ever written in my opinion. Such a simple lyric as “I’ll come running to tie your shoes” is like the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard… something about it just screams loving someone and doing anything for them to keep them safe and far from harm. Also so many Brian Eno guitar tones were a reference for this record. Distorted, almost lonely sounding, swirling and slidey – he captures it all. On the title track SUCKER we really pulled inspiration from Eno guitars and those are some of my favorite tones on the whole record.
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
I just love Dua Lipa so much. I think she is the greatest pop star right now. I don’t know necessarily if she influenced the writing of the record or what, but I think her attitude, confidence, and fun bombastic energy on Future Nostalgia was such an inspiration and was so fun to listen to constantly. All I wanna do is dance to some Dua Lipa!
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IAN SWEET has a series of release shows for SUCKER coming up this month, and an NYC date in early 2024 at Bowery Ballroom on January 28. See all dates below.
IAN SWEET: 2023-2024 TOUR DATES
SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER Mutations Festival 2023 Brighton, UK
THURSDAY 9 NOVEMBER London, UK Hackney Church (St John at Hackney)
TUESDAY 14 NOVEMBER Chicago, IL, US The Empty Bottle
FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER Los Angeles, CA, US Zebulon
SUNDAY 28 JANUARY New York, NY, US Bowery Ballroom