''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 States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

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 three full-length albums. The first album, ''Shapeshifter'', was released in 201 ...

, released on November 3, 2023, through

Polyvinyl Record Co. Polyvinyl Record Co. is an American independent record label headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The label also has satellite offices in New York, Austin, and the Bay Area. Polyvinyl has put out over 400 releases to date. The Polyvinyl roster ...

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 of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

with co-producers Alex Craig and Isaac Eiger. The three had full access to the studio, which allowed them "space for experimentation and spontaneity".

Critical reception

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

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

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

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' 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 '' Paste'' 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 is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...

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