Sunny Sweeney photo courtesy of Republic Nashville.

A word to the wise – don’t piss off Sunny Sweeney. Especially, and most emphatically, if you’re a guy she’s dating. Because if the 10 songs on the Texas singer/songwriter’s fantastic sophomore album, Concrete, are any indication, Sunny is not afraid to let you hear about it. Luckily for the rest of us, though, the fireworks exploding from this tight collection are like witnessing good drama; you can empathize with the stirring emotions and feel the pain involved, but you can’t help but keep looking.

Even Sunny herself can’t stop examining certain situations depicted on the album. On the first single, and Top 10 radio hit, “From A Table Away,” she watches from across the restaurant as the adulterer she’s dating mixes it up lovingly with his wife. The cheatin’ ballad is classic country with open guitar chords punctuated by thick telecaster tones. In her smooth and sweet southern drawl, Sunny sings, So I guess that means that things are better/ must not be so bad at home/ I thought it looked like you were leavin’/ but it don’t. On the bluegrass-tinged, “Amy,” Sunny conjures Dolly Parton in a reversal-of-fortune as she faces her cheating man’s wife. Amy, please let me explain, she sings before later adding, If you’d look right at him you might see/ he loves you, he never wanted me. The compelling story comes alive over a thumping, midtempo and stone cold country rhythm section.

Sunny’s voice and delivery shine as she displays the ability to convey complicated emotions through her well-phrased melodies and exceptionally chosen lyrics. On the brooding “Helluva Heart,” Sunny sings, I never did a thing to you ‘cept love you/ Tell me which part of that set you off, with half girl-next door innocence and half tough-as-nails attitude. “Mean As You,” an uptempo honky tonker, shows off this duality again as she sings, Now baby don’t you worry, I ain’t wastin’ my sweet time/ I want you to be the first to know, that you’re the last thing on my mind.

Watch this GAC exclusive of Sunny performing an acoustic version of “Mean As You” >>

Sunny shows off the ability to drive home her messages with the undeniable talent to work a melody. On the chorus of “Drink Myself Single,” she sings, I want to find out what it’s like to stagger in the house like you do every night, comfortably matching the swinging groove as her voice weaves through the chunky chord progression.

One of the album’s most intriguing pieces is the final song, “Fall For Me.” Shimmering acoustic guitars introduce a drifting, dreamlike pedal steel line before Sunny sings through the chorus, Fall for me, fall for me, yeah, you’re gonna fall for me/ Eventually, you just wait and see, baby, you’re gonna fall for me. On first listen it comes across as a self-assured song about knowing one’s power to make others fall head over heels. But in the context of the album’s other songs full of heartbreak, it can also be read as a lonely daydream. As the track fades out, it marks a fitting end to a multi-layered album that commands attention like a good drama and will leave listeners clicking “Repeat” when they’re not ready for it to end.

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