''Sucker'' is the fourth studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

musician

Ian Sweet Jilian Medford, better known by her stage name Ian Sweet, is an American indie rock musician from Los Angeles, California. History As Ian Sweet, Medford has released four full-length albums. The first album, ''Shapeshifter'', was released in 2016 ...

, released on November 3, 2023, through Polyvinyl Record Co. It was produced by Sweet, Alex Craig, and Isaac Eiger. It received positive reviews from critics.

Background and recording

Sweet recorded the album at the Outlier Inn, an artists' residency in the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

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with co-producers Alex Craig and Isaac Eiger. The three had full access to the studio, which allowed them "space for experimentation and spontaneity". On August 11, 2023, Sweet announced the release of his fourth studio album, along with the first single "You Spit". The single was produced by Alex Craig and Strange Ranger vocalist Isaac Eiger, while the music video was directed by Brittany Reeber, and featured Sarah Sherman and Martin Herlihy. The second single "Emergency Contact" was released on September 14, 2023, with a music video directed by Brittany Reeber, and features Please Don't Destroy member Martin Herlihy.

Critical reception

''Sucker'' received a score 79 out of 100 on review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

based on four critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. Marissa Lorusso of ''

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'' wrote that Medford "dials down the pressure, turning her attention to more mundane crises" and "retaining her commitment to emotional transparency, she leans into high-adrenaline hooks and poignant self-reflection with confidence and grit". Ethan Beck of ''

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'' felt that the album "succeeds with temperamental synths, guitars that add a dreamy gloss and percussion that splits the difference between bedroom-pop programming and

indie folk Indie folk (also called alternative folk) is an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Characteristics The staff of '' Paste Magazine'' said in 2020: "No music genre ...

mutedness". Reviewing the album for '' Under the Radar'', Michael James Hall called it "an adventurous pop album" as well as "a post-COVID, post-breakup record blooming with hope and self-realization". ''Glide Magazine'' Shawn Donohue described it as "the most pop-centric album of Ian Sweet's career" that was not unexpected as "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".

Track listing

Personnel

* Jilian Medford – vocals, guitar, synthesizer,

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* Alex Craig – guitar, synthesizer, production * Isaac Eiger – guitar, synthesizer, production (tracks 4, 10); piano (10)

References

{{Authority control 2023 albums Ian Sweet albums Polyvinyl Record Co. albums