Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00

Ian Sweet, 'Your Spit'

Can you tie a cherry stem in a knot with your tongue? On Ian Sweet's latest single, "Your Spit," it seems like singer Jilian Medford wants to know. The song "is about the joy and fear that surrounds new relationships. The excitement that's also accompanied by doubt," Medford says. "But I'd be lying if I didn't say the song is just mostly about making out."

"I need a minute / Or a million / To tell you how I'm feelin' now," Medford sings, devotion dripping from her lips as she drags out the breathy aforementioned "million" over the pop synths that characterize much of her music. In the music video for the song — which features concession booth cameos by Saturday Night Live's Sarah Sherman and Martin Herlihy — Medford sings from a movie theater filled with couples making out on velvety seats, tossing buttery popcorn and (69 cent!) movie theater candy in one another's mouths. In contrast to the messy makeout sessions, the song's production is sharp — and it accompanies the announcement of Ian Sweet's promising forthcoming album, Sucker, out Nov. 3. Medford's sipping from a soda labeled, of course, "your spit." Perhaps, in the refuge of an air-conditioned theater, the moviegoers are trying to escape the sticky summer heat — only to get caught up in something hotter inside.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.