LI 'Bluesy Pops' Singer-Songwriter To Release 2nd Album

COPIAGUE, NY — Christine Sweeney remembers sitting in her mother’s red '90s Nissan, feeling the Long Island summer breeze.

As she’d wait for her mother to get her nails done, Sweeney would play the sounds of powerhouse female artists such as Mariah Carey, Sade, Suzanne Vega and Ace of Base on cassette tapes.

“I have a tactile memory associated with those artists,” Sweeney said.

Throughout her childhood, she recalled, she’d continuously press the rewind button of Whitney Houston’s “Best Of” on cassette tape going back and forth, back and forth, trying to emulate Houston’s complicated yet profound vocal riffs.

Now, at 33, not only has she become an accomplished vocalist herself, but others can listen to her own music on repeat.

Sweeney, of Copiague, is soon to release her sophomore album, “Heart In a Hurry,” on April 22, and will go on tour throughout Long Island and New York City this spring.

According to her website, the album is a culmination of “folk and soul, with generous dashes of blues, pop, Americana."

The musician, who studied music theory and songwriting at SUNY New Paltz, recently told Patch about her new album, and how it touches on themes of perseverance, heartbreak and moving forward after hitting rock bottom.

“I think of the title ‘Heart In a Hurry’ as being a commentary on kind of when you're trying to rush through something, and maybe your feet are moving faster than your head,” Sweeney said.

Sometimes, she said, that can work out in your favor. But at other times, it can get you in trouble and make you feel as if you’ve reached rock bottom.

One song off the album, “Feeling So Low,” addresses that feeling, she said. The lyrics are words of encouragement in times of hopelessness — something everyone can relate to after having lived through the past two years.

“Sometimes I relate to that song as a message to myself to get out of bed and just power through for one more day,” Sweeney said. “And sometimes it's a message to others saying, ‘Hey, I got out of bed. Look, I'm doing all right, you can do it, too.’”

The singer-songwriter told Patch that she credits her career to her Long Island upbringing.

Sweeney lived in Deer Park until sixth grade, she said. She then moved to West Babylon, where she would go on to learn guitar and write songs in junior high.

The music department at West Babylon High School, she said, is where she first learned chords, music theory and a passion for songwriting.

“I remember the feelings of writing a new song and humming into my head as I was walking down the hallway in school,” she said. “All the classes that they had in West Babylon were definitely great. There were so many cool musicians from that school that I was able to connect with.”

Sweeney said that growing up, she was most inspired to sing by R&B and pop artists such as Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, and acoustic, “sultry” artists including Sade and Suzanne Vega. These artists helped her create her own sound, a mix of R&B and jazz, she said.

She loved feeling “the idea that I could make something just as cool as what I was trying to learn." In August 2014, she released her first album, “Lune Et Lumiere.” Since then, Sweeney told Patch, she’s been able to grow as an artist and experiment with her music.

“Heart In a Hurry,” she said, differs from her debut album, “Lune Et Lumiere” in multiple ways.

Her voice has “caramelized” or matured, she said, as has the process of album creation.

Sweeney told Patch that the production of the album’s production was a bit of a struggle, because each member of her band had to record separately to follow COVID-19 safety protocols.

“People had to come in on different days, to be safe, wearing masks, sanitizing, making sure that we have enough space between everybody,” she said. “You can't just have your whole band come and hang out.”

Being unable to perform at physical events, she said, was also a huge setback. Sweeney said she performed on virtual, livestreaming events.

“As a performer, if you're really set on performing, if you know that it's a part of you, and you've gravitated toward it all of your life,” she said. “It's because you need to. It's not just because you like the attention.”

Although the pandemic prolonged the album’s production, Sweeney said the pause did offer the benefit of time, allowing her to put careful thought into each song.

“It's coming to life in a different way,” she said. “I feel like my first record, we tracked it kind of fast. And this record, I was able to do it a little bit slower, a little more intentionally.”

Now that safety protocols have eased, Sweeney said she is thrilled to perform again with her band and promote the album. After so much growth and crafting, she said, the result was definitely worth the wait.

“I feel like I'm a different person and it's somewhat like a celebration of who I am now,” she said.

To learn more about Christine Sweeney and tour dates, click here.

To listen to her music on Spotify, click here.