Sucker (Ian Sweet album)

Last updated

Sucker
Ian Sweet - Sucker.png
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 3, 2023 (2023-11-03)
StudioOutliner Inn, New York, US
Genre Bedroom pop, indie folk
Length41:47
Label Polyvinyl
Producer
Ian Sweet chronology
Show Me How You Disappear
(2021)
Sucker
(2023)

Sucker is the fourth studio album by American indie rock musician Ian Sweet, 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.

Contents

Background and recording

Sweet recorded the album at the Outlier Inn, an artists' residency in the Catskill Mountains of New York with co-producers Alex Craig and Isaac Eiger. The three had full access to the studio, which allowed them "space for experimentation and spontaneity". [1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 79/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Paste 7.9/10 [3]
Pitchfork 7.3/10 [1]
Under the Radar Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Sucker received a score 79 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on four critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. [2] Marissa Lorusso of Pitchfork 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". [1] 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 mutedness". [3] 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". [4] 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". [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jilian Medford and Alex Craig.

Sucker track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Bloody Knees"4:40
2."Smoking Again"4:16
3."Emergency Contact"5:02
4."Sucker"4:28
5."Comeback"3:47
6."Your Spit"3:25
7."Clean"3:54
8."Fight"3:32
9."Slowdance"3:37
10."Hard"5:06
Total length:41:47

Personnel

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Lorusso, Marissa (November 8, 2023). "Ian Sweet: Sucker Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Sucker by Ian Sweet Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Beck, Ethan (November 3, 2023). "Ian Sweet's Sucker Hurts in All of the Best Ways". Paste . Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Hall, Michael James (November 6, 2023). "Ian Sweet: Sucker (Polyvinyl) – review". Under the Radar . Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  5. Donohue, Shawn (November 2, 2023). "Ian Sweet Melts Indie Rock Into Pop On Vibrant Sucker (Album Review)". Glide Magazine. Retrieved November 8, 2023.