Ian Sweet / Friday 8th February 2019 / Headrow House

SUPER Friendz presents
IAN SWEET
Friday 8th February 2019
Headrow House
8pm
£8
18+

IAN
SWEET has been the source of and solution to many of Jilian
Medford’s deepest anxieties. But now, two years after her
soul-bearing debut LP Shapeshifter, Medford is confronting that
reality with surprising optimism on her new full-length Crush
Crusher. Medford has decided to make the project a solo
endeavor once again (as it had been in her salad days in the
Boston DIY scene) and took the opportunity to compose some
of her most self reflective and emotionally analytical songs to
date. In writing Crush Crusher, Medford committed herself to
exploring her own issues with self-image, self-respect/worth,
and the responsibility she has felt to others. Album opener
͞Hiding͟ was one of the first songs she wrote for the record
while living in a frigid Brooklyn apartment during a winter
break amidst her grueling tour schedule. In the song, Medford
reflects on an interpersonal relationship that fell apart
because of an inability to feel supreme comfort in sharing all
the pieces of herself with someone. Nevertheless, a hopeful
demeanor shines through on ͞Hiding͟ and in her writing across
the album, with lyrics that embrace life’s hurdles and make
them feel a little less scary. Much of Crush Crusher’s songs
deal with Medford’s internalized pressure to become a caretaker
in many of her close friends’ lives. As a defense mechanism
for her own insecurities, Medford projects a sense of
invincibility and benevolence to feel more deserving of the
love received from others; we hear this on ͞Holographic Jesus͟
when she repeats the phrase ͞the sun built me to shade
everybody,͟ characterizing the sacrifice and responsibility she
feels in ways that could easily go unnoticed. ͞Holographic
Jesus͟ultimately represents a façade of strength that Medford
has clung onto and, in true Taurus fashion, is stubborn to
let go of. Musically, Crush Crusher is full of dissonant
open chords and abnormal progressions, finding beauty in a
level of conflict not seen on Shapeshifter. To help achieve
this expansive-but-focused sound, Medford enlisted the help of
someone who was just as ambitiously experimental in their
approach, producer and engineer Gabe Wax (Deerhunter, The War
on Drugs, Soccer Mommy). Medford and Wax set up shop at Rare
Book Room studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and completed the
basic tracking with musicians Simon Hanes on bass and Max
Almario on drums. ͞Coming into a space where some of my
biggest inspirations like Bjork, Dirty Projectors, and Deerhunter
had all once also recorded, I felt determined to push myself
and test every boundary that I may have subconsciously
created along the way. Gabe made me feel comfortable with
attempting anything,͟ Medford says. By the end of the recording
process, IAN SWEET wound up with an unconventional assortment
of songs featuring disparate elements of psych-rock, trip-hop,
and shoegaze that together forged a sound uniquely her own.
Crush Crusher’s closing track ͞Your Arms Are Water͟ serves as a
thematic reprise for the whole album, telling the story of
an inspiring relationship in Medford’s life that was drowning
in doubt. The song’s nuanced perspective captures the record’s
thesis—that to escape your misery sometimes requires accepting
your imperfections. Such compassionate and densely-realized
observations make Crush Crusher more nourishing food for thought
for fans of IAN SWEET.

Tickets on sale this Wednesday 31st at 10am from DICE - UK, USA & France, Crash Records, Jumbo Records