Ian Sweet, real name Jilian Medford, came up musically in the Boston DIY scene, but she’s since moved to Los Angeles. This relocation prompted Medford to revert Ian Sweet back into a solo project, as it had previously been, and now she’s readying her sophomore album. Crush Crusher comes out later this month (October 26 via Hardly Art), and now she’s shared a new single called “Holographic Jesus.”
Medford says the title of the gloomy and immense indie rocker is pretty literal, as it references her collection of holographic Jesus posters:
“‘Holographic Jesus’ is a song based around collecting holographic Jesus posters from various bodegas and dollar stores while living in Brooklyn. I am in no way religious but I hung them up all over my room and was constantly finding the nuances and idiosyncrasies of each one. You could turn your head the slightest and see an entirely different image reflected. I felt connected to that idea. Some people collect ceramic frogs or action figures but I collect holographic Jesus posters. This song is about the things I went through in that room while these posters were so to speak ‘watching over me.'”
She also said of recording the album in Brooklyn’s Rare Book Room Studio, “Coming into a space where some of my biggest inspirations like Björk, 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. [Producer and engineer Gabe Wax] made me feel comfortable with attempting anything.”
Listen to “Holographic Jesus” above, and check out Ian Sweet’s upcoming tour dates below (some of which, appropriately enough, are with Young Jesus).
10/18 — Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room #
10/20 — San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill #
10/22 — Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios #
10/23 — Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret #
10/24 — Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern #
10/25 — Boise, ID @ The Olympic #
10/26 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court #
10/27 — Denver, CO @ Hi Dive #
10/28 — Omaha, NE @ O’Leavers #
10/29 — Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry #
10/30 — Chicago @ Subterranean #
11/1 — Toronto, ON @ The Monarch #
11/2 — Buffalo @ Mohawk Place #
11/3 — Boston, MA @ Great Scott # ^
11/5 — Brooklyn, NY @ Park Church Co-op # ^
11/6 — Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s # ^
11/7 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage #
11/8 — Durham, NC @ The Pinhook #
11/9 — Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight #
11/10 — Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn #
11/11 — Orlando, FL @ 11Eleven Fest
11/12 — Tallahassee, FL @ The Wilbury #
11/13 — New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa #
11/14 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall #
11/15 — Dallas, TX @ Three Links #
11/16 — Austin, TX @ The Mohawk #
11/19 — Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar #
11/20 — San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar #
# with Young Jesus
^ with Sean Henry
Crush Crusher is out 10/26 via Hardly Art. Pre-order it here.
