Sweeney’s songwriting sparkles on new album ‘Rhinestone Requiem.' The ten tracks, recorded at Cherry Ridge Studio in Texas, and released via Aunt Daddy Records/Thirty Tigers will strike a chord with ‘70s and ‘90s music fans, and earn a train of new fans.
East Texan raised Sweeney is a hard-hitting songwriter unafraid to take personal experiences straight to a country music heart, aided and abetted by longtime guitarist Harley Husbands.
Get the “honky tonk feeling” with up-tempo album opener ‘Find It Where I Can’, a blues-laced steel guitar truck driving song about taking charge in life. This song sets the tone for a personal album with good-time and honest storytelling.
The beat and the alliterative country truth continues on ‘Diamonds and Divorce Decrees’ the lead single released in May, and hones in on the time between the end of a marriage and the start of your next life. Or maybe between the start and the end of a marriage; interpret as you will, dear listener. I like that the story was inspired by Sweeney’s safe being repurposed as a coffee table at her Mum’s house, that in the end held her grandmother’s diamonds and Sweeney’s divorce papers.
The latest single to be released, ‘Traveling On’ slows the pace to more of a traditional ‘70s country sound. It’s easy to imagine this track being played around a campfire at the start of a western film.
The neon and the tempo turns up again on ‘As Long As There’s A Honky Tonk’; Sweeney is back home, singing of the joys of life on the road: “Highway life’s not paradise, but it’s just right by me…As long as there’s a honky tonk, I’ll always have a home”.
The steel guitar harmonises beautifully on Sweeney’s Texan ballad, ‘Houston Belongs To Me’ as the breakdown of a marriage with the dividing up of possessions extended to include a hometown that won’t be given up.
Texas swing meets Australian country on Sweeney’s version of ‘Last Hard Bible’, which featured on original recording artist Kasey Chambers’ debut album The Captain in 1999. Chambers and her brother Nash also lend their vocals to Sweeney’s track, bringing the album a real full-circle moment.
’Is Tonight the Night (I Make You a Memory)’ written with Ben Chapman and Erin Enderlin, opens with a guitar melancholy intro, before kicking off into a piano and steel guitar honky tonk. Enderlin also joins Sweeney and Gary Nicholson on the t-shirt worthy and addictive hook ‘I Drink Well with Others’ which will sound amazing live; catch Sweeney on tour across the US if you can.
Moments before a bar’s lights come on, steel and fiddle waltzes through one of the best album closers, the ballad ‘Half Lit in ¾ Time’, where the “jukebox tells stories in rhyme”. And somewhere someone opens another box of wine to celebrate Sweeney’s brand of storytelling.
Sweeney’s Rhinestone Requiem album blends Brandy Clark style lyricism with the vocals of Nanci Griffith and the heart of a honky tonk angel. Go listen to it now.
Track list: 1. Find It Where I Can 2. Diamonds and Divorce Decrees 3. Traveling On 4. As Long as There’s a Honky Tonk 5. Houston Belongs To Me 6. Last Hard Bible 7. Waiting for a Reason to Stay 8. Is Tonight the Night (I Make You a Memory) 9. I Drink Well with Others 10. Half Lit in ¾ Time Release date: 1st August Recording label: Aunt Daddy Records/Thirty Tigers Buy ‘Rhinestone Requiem' right here
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