IAN SWEET: 2026

This FUV Live session is also available as a podcast, "FUV Live Sessions." We're elevating WFUV's long history of live sessions and interviews via a podcast that you can find on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday.

IAN SWEET – the musical and emotional vehicle for Los Angeles indie-rocker Jilian Medford – released Shiverstruck this summer on Polyvinyl. It's the fifth album that Medford has released under this moniker over the course of a career that’s spanned 10 years, two coasts, and a whole lot of feelings.

Projects are, of course, a product of an artist’s environment, and Shiverstruck was written during the second year of Medford’s stint in NYC, where the struggles of the city led to the eventual epiphany which transformed the way she approached her art. As an indie artist trying to make her way in a famously unaffordable town (and notoriously difficult industry), Medford took a day job working with kids to pay the bills. When singing and dancing with children, Medford was taken by the openness and unselfconsciousness of her miniature audience members. Witnessing their genuine response to music inspired a new honesty in the way Medford made her own, and she dove into her songwriting with a fresh drive and desire to really focus on what felt real. 

For Shiverstruck, Medford worked tirelessly, particularly on her lyrics, to craft a true portrait of her present. The resulting record is an authentic work of self-reflection and a response to the three major experiences defining that chapter of her life, as the the musician fought back against industry pressures, dealt with a big breakup, and made the decision to move back to her hometown of Los Angeles.

In celebration of the album, Medford and her band  — bassist Kace Satterfield, drummer Ross Chait and Sarah Bernstein on keys — visited FUV's studio for a session, a few weeks ahead of Shiverstruck's release and just days before hitting the road supporting American Football. 

The setlist featured three songs from the new album — "Criminal Kissing," "Jilian" and "Silver Screen," with Medford playing with bandmates Kayce Satterfield (bass),  Ross Chait (drums) and Sarah Bernstein (keys).

“Criminal Kissing" is an ode to embracing bad decisions (specifically of the ex-boyfriend variety) and welcoming the chaos that will inevitably ensue. The track “Jilian” stands out: a song written about the struggles of life in NYC, which sees Medford singing to herself and acknowledging the hilarity laced through life’s hardest moments. “Silver Screen” is a song about perpetual striving and the focus on some perfect future (often at the present’s expense). 

While I was admittedly new to the IAN SWEET universe, the interview felt less like an introduction and more like a coffee-shop catch-up. In between the songs, we discussed bad decisions, songs as spells, and escaping the sad-girl stereotype, plus plotted how – a` la Beyoncé’s “Bootylicious” – Medford could get “shiverstruck” added to the dictionary.

[Recorded: 7/7/26. Engineered by Holden Buckley,  Alessandro Badalamenti, and Stacy Tran. Produced by Diana Juarez, Gwen Taylor, and Heather Jones. Videographers: Olivia Iannaccone, Gina Slavin, Kellie McGuinness and Dylan Duong.]