Nervy Los Angeles-based indie trio
Ian Sweet began on the East Coast as the solo project of singer/guitarist
Jillian Medford. Recording first under the high school nickname of
Ian,
Medford chanced into a collaborative partnership with drummer
Tim Cheney and bassist
Damien Scalise, and they eventually rechristened themselves
Ian Sweet. Their complex, jittery pop approach soon netted them a deal with
Hardly Art, which issued their self-titled debut EP in the summer of 2016. Mere months later came
Shapeshifter, the group's full-length debut and a vibrant showcase for all of the weirdness they have to offer. Melodically complex, yet oddly hooky,
Ian Sweet's songs cycle through elements of fuzzy lo-fi, dream pop, shimmering psych, and vintage alt-pop. At the prow, cutting through it all, is
Medford's frenetic guitar playing and shapeshifting voice, which veers between lush, airy delicacy and cracked squealing. Skittering anxiously from theme to theme -- skating, mental health, Nickelodeon TV, Michael Jordan -- their song structures reflect the restlessness of
Medford's lyrical style. Sonically adventurous from the start, "Pink Marker" begins the album with a gentle ricochet of tape-manipulated guitars before segueing into the buzzy math pop of "Slime Time Live." Fluttering, heavily-chorused guitars abound on most tracks, including the busy yet beguiling title cut and the dreamily off-kilter "2soft2chew." At times,
Shapeshifter reflects its name a little too closely, never settling on an idea long enough for it to become established. Still there's something likeable about
Ian Sweet's manic brand of art pop, and for a trio, they produce an impressive amount of melodious, if somewhat difficult, noise. ~ Timothy Monger
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