ToC Critic’s Pick: Sunny Sweeney (Feat. Will Hoge), ‘My Bed’ [Listen]

Anyone who thought marriage might tenderize Sunny Sweeney's artistic impulses needs to listen to "My Bed," her duet with Will Hoge. Few singers are so hopelessly committed to heartache as this Texas-raised singer.

Sweeney is all-in again with relentless lyrics about failed marriage. At no point does either singer offer hope that the any spark of their once-burning love hasn't yet been crushed out like a cigarette smoked to the nubs and dropped on a honky-tonk floor.

"I don’t know you / I don’t miss you when you’re gone / You don’t know me /  Baby where did we go wrong / I don’t need you /  Why ain’t this over yet / Now you’re just sleeping in my bed," Sweeney sings to open the ballad.

Immediately a first-time Sweeney listener can cast judgement on her style, something that's usually very difficult to do before swimming through the catalog of most artists. "My Bed" stands as an example for what she's all about: staying committed to the scarred edges of human emotion. It's a "love it or hate it" kind of thing.

"You’re just sleeping in my bed / We’re both wishin’/ We were anywhere else instead / All the love we had is dead / Now you’re just sleeping in my bed," the pair sing during the chorus.

The story is going to be difficult to embrace for those who prefer vanilla over whiskey. Frankly, you could say the same thing about the singer. Country radio would do well to include more like her.

Key Lyrics: "All the love we had is dead / Now you’re just sleeping in my bed"

Did You Know?: "My Bed" can be found on Sweeney's Provoked album. She recorded it using funds raised from PledgeMusic.

Listen to Sunny Sweeney, “My Bed”