wendy mcneill
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wendy mcneill

Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden | MAJOR

Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden | MAJOR
Band Folk Cabaret

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Wendy McNeill - The Wonder Show

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Wendy McNeill - The Wonder Show

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* Album Rating: 9 / 10

The accordion is an instrument currently in vogue with indie bands these days - Arcade Fire, mewithoutYou, and Annuals are just a few of the bands that can't resist dusting off the old chest organ from time to time. But nobody pulls it off like songstress Wendy McNeill, a native of Edmonton, Canada who spends most of her time in northern Europe, flashing her purple hair and wowing audiences who've heard relatively nothing about her. She somehow got away with releasing three albums prior to The Wonder Show to little fanfare either in Canada or here in the states, and the maturity that she's developed really shows.

The album starts off with the dark tale "Restless" as McNeill opens the album with a vocal intro, singing, "Nothing like a belly full of stitches/ to let you know you're alive/ nothing like the leash of limitation/ to make you wanna try!" You know immediately you're in for a trip. McNeill has a story to tell, and accordion in hand, she tells it with utter effectiveness - sometimes the tales are dark and twisted, sometimes rainy and wistful. "Carnation" takes a more wistful approach; a gypsy-like tale that compares carnation flowers with the story of an actress's lost love.

"Holly O'" has a huge cabaret sound to it, the sound of coins jingling in the background along with some grim laughter by McNeill as she sings: "A three legged dog/ hobbled across her path�/ as she thought about how/ he'd arrived at that state/ was it genetics or some weird twist of fate/ no collar, no master/ how she could relate."

"When the Letter Came" and "Where the Living Was Wild" introduce McNeill's signature percussive guitar technique. The song arrangements are simple yet effective in their sparseness. The latter spins the hard tale of female pioneers during the Alaska gold rush of 1896-1900. McNeill's vocal narrative carries the songs, her voice full of character and emotion. Its easy to imagine her standing on a street corner in Stockholm or London, playing for tips and telling stories to her audience.

McNeill's songs are not all sparse and dark, as the last half of the record takes a distinctly lighter approach to things. "Beyond Longing" is flat out one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in the past year, and "Absolute Beauty" leaves the listener longing for an encore. Comparisons are hard to find because of the uniqueness of Ms. McNeill's music, but aren't really necessary. If you have an appreciation for eclectic, artsy-folk that will tell you a story, The Wonder Show is a sure bet. Hopefully Wendy McNeill doesn't make her stay over in Europe permanent, because we could use more songwriters of her caliber on this side of the Atlantic.

[Nathan Knapp loves the street corners of Stockholm, strange European restaurants, and people who tell funny stories while playing accordions]
- Stereo Subversion


"Spotlight: Wendy McNeill; accordeons zijn hip!"

Spotlight: Wendy McNeill; accordeons zijn hip!
Geplaatst op 30-11-07 om 13:06:31 (Link)
Auteur: de Abhorsen E-Mail

Elke vrijdag laat GeenCommentaar haar licht schijnen op een bekende of minder bekende artiest. Van politiek gedreven zanger(es) tot stevige no-nonsense rock, we bespreken elke week een spraakmakende muzikant.

Waarschijnlijk zegt de naam Wendy McNeill je niets. Deze oorspronkelijk uit Canada afkomstige singer-songwriter heeft over de jaren heen echter een aantal zeer interessante en uiterst onconventionele albums afgeleverd. Tijdens haar tournee door Europa, als voorprogramma van Ane Brun, maakte ze op veel bezoekers indruk met haar "art noir muziek". Bij McNeill word de gitaar vaak ingeruild voor een accordeon, zonder dat de muziek achterhaald klinkt.

Accordeons zijn hip!

Wendy McNeill valt meteen al op door het gebruik van haar accordeon, hoewel ze de gitaar ook vaak genoeg ter hand neemt voor mensen die zich hier zorgen om maken. Het is gemakkelijk om te denken dat ze haar accordeon gebruikt als een gimmick, maar met die gedachte doe je haar muziek geen recht. Ze weet een uniek, modern -maar zeer duister- geluid neer te zetten dat op geen enkel moment aan Kees, Piet of Jan "met zijn accordeon" doet denken. Aan wie dan wel? Bijvoorbeeld PJ Harvey die besluit voortaan enkel accordeons te gebruiken. Sterke voorbeelden hiervan zijn de nummers 'Such a Common Bird', 'Black Angus' en het in het bovenstaande youtube filmpje getoonde 'Restless'.

"A drifter set in motion
This tale of love and devotion
Reluctant locomotion so wild"

Op haar albums weet ze de balans tussen nummers met accordeon en gitaar goed te behouden. De meer normale rock nummers, zoals 'Julien', zorgen ervoor dat haar albums vlot blijven klinken en niet vervallen tot teveel misère. Dat laatste sentiment voert namelijk de boventoon bij de "accordeon-nummers", wat overigens niet wil zeggen dat haar andere muziek positief en opgewekt is. Hoewel sommige nummers lekkere uptempo rock zijn, spreekt uit de teksten een verwrongen 'art noir' wereldbeeld.


(Julien)

Folk Noir

Wendy McNeill (Foto: Onbekend / Promotiefoto officiele website)McNeill beschrijft haar muziek zelf als Folk Noir. Ik heb toch meer moeite om haar goed te categoriseren, want de muziek is naar mijn mening meer Noir dan Folk. Haar stijl doet mij aan veel andere artiesten denken, van de eerder genoemde Ane Brun en PJ Harvey tot het latere werk van Miranda Sex Garden. Haar muziek bevind zich in een schermerzone; een bizarre combinatie van een Parijse straatmuzikant, alternatieve rockchick en componist voor een artistiek danstheater. Folk Noir zou ik het zelf niet noemen, zeker niet gezien de politieke lading die daar vaak bij komt kijken, welke geheel afwezig is in McNeill's muziek.

Haar teksten zijn al even moeilijk te beschrijven. Zoals in 'The Sparrow', een onnavolgbaar duister verhaal van een vrouw die zichzelf staande probeert te houden in de prostitutie denk ik: alsof ze het plot van een artistieke franse film, met net iets teveel bloot, beschrijft. Over het algemeen laat ze een zeer negatief zelfbeeld doorschemeren in haar teksten.

"Now in the care of a kind brothel Madame
Grandma Gassion did the best that she could
This upbringing had not made me sentimental
When a boy signalled a girl
I figured she should"


(The Sparrow)

McNeill's jeugd heeft waarschijnlijk een grote invloed gehad op haar muziekstijl. Een sterke voorkeur voor depressieve muziek in haar jonge jaren gecombineerd met een dansopleiding maakten haar muzikale keuzes misschien wel onvermijdelijk. In die tijd maken bands zoals Sisters of Mercy, Siouxie and the Banshees, maar ook de Velvet Underground een grote indruk op haar. Hoewel de link op muzikaal vlak misschien niet direct te leggen is, is het algehele gevoel waar je mee achterblijft na het beluisteren van haar muziek wel duidelijk geïnspireerd door deze bands.

Samenwerking met Ane Brun

Wendy McNeill's -zij het nog bescheiden- bekendheid is waarschijnlijk voor een groot deel te danken aan Ane Brun. Deze Noorse zangeres heeft McNeill niet alleen de mogelijkheid gegeven om als support-act door heel Europa te touren, maar heeft ook een van McNeill's nummers opnieuw opgenomen. Op Ane Brun's album 'duets' staat een heropname van McNeill's 'Such a Common Bird', zoals de naam van de CD al aangeeft een duet. De eerlijkheid gebiedt te zeggen dat Ane Brun eigenlijk amper meezingt. Het lijkt er dan ook meer op dat ze de gelegenheid heeft aangegrepen om haar vriendin een extra zetje in de rug te geven.

"I am a lone wolf
A beauty and a beast
Both hunter and hunted
Soft tongue and sharp teeth"

De muziek van Wendy McNeill is via haar website te bestellen. Deze lijkt echter op het moment van schrijven niet beschikbaar te zijn; www.wendymcneill.com.
Muziek • Spotlight
- Green Commentator


"Exclaim!"


Wendy McNeill
The Wonder Show
By Amanda Ash

In The Wonder Show, you really do get a wonder show. Forget all the weeping lap steels, solemn acoustic guitars and the rustic prairie dejection; true folk music takes the shape of a bright young woman and her accordion. A former Edmontonian, Wendy McNeill has a knack for exploding elementary melodies into a collage of gloomy stories, random thoughts and expressive musings. In her early music career, McNeill worked in a singer-songwriter club and was exposed to the many talented artists that passed through. She holds a special place in her heart for the creative twists of Leonard Cohen and the alt-country rituals of Woody Guthrie, but her real inspiration comes from a desire to sit us down at a candle-lit table and tell us a story. On the album, “Restless” engages with the post-modern obsession of pain and personal infliction, as well as the banality of a culture void of emotion. “Carnation” is hopeful, delicate and honest, her abrupt sing-speak style of vocals interweaving with long, trailing accordion hums. As an added little treat, McNeill includes “Common Little Bird” (from 2004’s Such A Common Bird) on the record, which is her signature tune about finding beauty in the ordinary. From beginning to end, The Wonder Show captures McNeill’s sassy, passionate and dedicated persona, and there’s no doubt DIY artists out there are all staring at her right now, wishing they could have a little piece of her rock solid tenacity.

What made you move to Europe?
I wanted to be based here. I felt that my music would probably go over well here. I was told by many people that I should be in a bigger centre, a bigger population centre because my music doesn’t necessarily appeal to a large piece of the pie. I’ve also been here before and I felt comfortable with the feel of the place, so I thought it might work.

Has living in Europe changed your folk sound or the way you approach your music?
I don’t think [Europe] has changed that much of what I do. I was sort of fixated on some European characters before, like back when I was little in the prairies, so if anything it’s allowed me to play live more. I’m more comfortable with that.

Do you ever find your music feeling displaced from that familiar prairie folk sound Edmonton seems to cultivate?
It’s funny, because I go away but when I come back [to Edmonton] I feel completely at home again. I don’t seem to miss it too much as long as I keep myself busy with interesting and exciting things. It’s when there’s a lull in the everyday intriguing events that I miss it, but I haven’t had a lot of time for that over the last little while.

Rachelle Van Zanten, formerly of the Painting Daisies, toured Europe in order to make herself known there before coming back to Canada. Do you share the same sentiment?
I really love some of the opportunities that I’m getting out here. I’m just going to go where I’m wanted. I don’t feel like I’m on a mission where I say, “Okay, I’m going to do this for two years and then go back to Canada and do that for two years.” I just feel very lucky for every opportunity that presents itself. Like right now, I’m looking out over these old mountains and an old castle. The promoters are treating me to this fantastic Swiss/German meal. It’s like a little piece of heaven. I recently got to go to Brazil and play with people that I’ve been admiring for ages, like Joanna Newsom. I’m just soaking it up.

Why did you decide to include “Such A Common Bird” on The Wonder Show?
When I first signed with the Swedish record label, they really wanted me to put the song on. I thought there wouldn’t be any conflict because I’d be releasing it in Europe. I didn’t think I’d release it in Canada.

What influenced your unique vocal style? I find you “sing-speak” your words?
It’s probably because I never made it past my first vocal lesson. I had enrolled in vocal lessons in Edmonton. I think it was two classes before they needed me to sing this one song and I couldn’t do it properly. So I guess I just had to sing the way that I could. (Six Shooter) - Exclaim! 2007


"Les Femmes s\'en mêlent, joli lot"

Les Femmes s\'en mêlent, joli lot
by Francoise-Marie Santucci
Liberation, [Paris, France]
March 24, 2006

Les Femmes s'en mêlent, joli lot

La neuvième édition du festival a mêlé jeunes pousses et ex-gloires.

par Françoise-Marie SANTUCCI
QUOTIDIEN : lundi 24 avril 2006

Chemise blanche à jabots, pantalon noir lacé de près, voix qui claque sous le chignon serré : dans l'écrin sombre de la Maroquinerie, Mona Soyoc a emballé la dernière date parisienne du festival les Femmes s'en mêlent (Libération du 17 avril). Voilà des années que l'ex-chanteuse du duo nancéen, Kas Product, référence cold wave au début des années 80, faisait des trucs à droite et à gauche. «Beaucoup de projets qui n'aboutissaient pas» confie-t-elle backstage. Jusqu'à ce que le programmateur du festival, Stéphane Amiel, lui envoie un courriel en décembre. Banco : «Je venais de m'acheter un ordinateur. Une dizaine de chansons sont nées, assez vite.» Elle les a jouées samedi soir, seule en scène mais puissamment électrifiée par ledit ordinateur qui envoyait des rythmiques bien lourdes sur laquelle Mona Soyoc, sa guitare et sa bouche de maîtresse SM, nous alpaguait de cette voix cassée si reconnaissable. A l'heure où les albums de Kas Product sont réédités, Soyoc rêve de continuer l'aventure en s
olo, via «une maison de disques, ou en diffusant des titres sur l'Internet». On peut écouter sur son site (1) un inédit impeccable, Warrior. A suivre, sans faute.

Come-back. Les Femmes s'en mêlent redécouvrant d'anciennes gloires chaque année, c'est un peu la marotte d'Amiel, on a encore baigné dans la France mitterrandienne avec Ellie Medeiros, qui montait pour la première fois sur scène depuis quinze ans (album à venir en septembre). Là où Soyoc la joue survoltée, Medeiros se dandinait en dévoilant son ventre plat et ses nouvelles chansons assez sexe sur des rythmes plus ou moins reggae. Pas de quoi tomber par terre, mais plaisant. C'est une prétendante, plus que les têtes d'affiche attendues Isobel Campbell ou Sarah Slean, impeccables dans le genre mou ; on n'était pas d'humeur , qui nous a ravies en milieu de semaine. Munie d'une guitare ou d'un petit accordéon, Wendy McNeill, cheveux roux et dégaine de danseuse classique, livra un délicieux moment de cabaret rock, intimiste et drôle. La Canadienne, qui vient de quitter sa ville d'Edmonton pour s'établir entre Paris et la Suède, n'en fait pas trop, à part l'essentiel, et c'est heureu
x ; à vérifier sur son dernier album, The Wonder Show, déjà sorti chez V2 Suède.

Entre elles. Sinon, la grande affaire de cette édition fut, par les hasards de la programmation, la découverte d'une «jeune scène» de filles qui aiment les filles. Mais une scène éclatée car, entre The Organ et Milkymee, quoi de commun sinon ça ? Passé The Organ, donc, quintette de Vancouver (découvert dans la série télé lesbienne L Word), aux looks rock fiévreux et musique idoine qui enthousiasma une salle conquise, on craqua pour deux jeunes chanteuses d'ici. Enfin, façon de parler vu leur influence et la langue anglaise empruntée. La Lyonnaise Vale Poher, guitare et rage énormes, arrive un peu hésitante, et comme elle grimace pas mal tant elle y croit, on craint qu'elle n'aille au casse-pipe. Eh bien non. Sous l'évidente influence de PJ Harvey, Poher sèche plutôt son monde. C'est rêche et accrocheur.

- Liberation, [Paris, France]


"Review / Calgary Folk Festival"

Review / Calgary Folk Festival
by Robert Everett-Green
The Globe And Mail, [Toronto]
June 22, 2005

.....Every festival offers someone to discover, and for me that was Wendy McNeill, an Edmonton musician whose sharp-edged songs with accordion and guitar seemed like dispatches from a post-rock cabaret. .... - The Globe And Mail, [Toronto]


"Cd Review/ A Dreamer's Guide to Hardcore Living"

This week's quick spins
Published August 21, 2008 by See Staff in Music Column

Wendy McNeill
A Dreamer’s Guide to Hardcore Living
(Six Shooter)
***1/2

Generally I’m not one for femme-y folkie sounds—the wispy, waify indie thing never really grew on me. But I do have an inexplicable fondness for the accordion—don’t ask—and “Stop,� the opening track on Wendy McNeill’s A Dreamer’s Guide to Hardcore Living, stole my heart with its oom-pah-pah accordion line and dark, velvety vocals. Some might call it folk noir—pish! It’s far more brooding than that—imagine a female-fronted Gogol Bordello crawling through molasses and holding hands with Stephin Merritt. This new album from our most adorable former Darling of Folk (now expatriated to Sweden, sniff) is a 12-tracker full of gypsy-tinged cabaret ballads. Shrieks and stomps and handclaps fill out the noise amidst the toy piano, celesta, and other quirky sounds (including something the sleeve calls “creative tape deck kicking�). An irresistible acoustic hook starts out “Crossing Hearts/Cutting Threads,� quickly morphs into a static- and tech-drenched wall of background coos and pings, before stopping dead in its tracks—the ensuing silence then gives way to the gorgeous, sad, simple “Faith and the Long Haired Man.� (You know, I think I’ve met him before too.) It’s an album for those melancholy days when you realize summer’s fading fast and the nights are getting longer. And darker.
FAWNDA MITHRUSH

- See Magazine


"Hardcore Fairy Tales / Cd review for A Dreamer's Guide to Hardcore Living"


Hardcore fairy tales

By FISH GRIWKOWSKY



Wendy McNeill

A Dreamer's Guide to Hardcore Living

Six Shooter Records

4.5 out of five

Strong, as in aggressive and fierce, Wendy McNeill's new album has pushed past that, "Hey, I'm in Europe - look!" thing and uses her surroundings to her benefit instead of being merely smitten by them. In other words, this is a really strong pack of songs that have left the Parisian Cafe where all the Canadians drink, and has headed off into the city's dark and secret eclecticisms, places where it's obviously easy to get hurt. The accordion is her best friend still, but it's a new animal every song, most of them melancholy - beautifully so, like on the emotionally complex The Sad Sssad Story of Rosa Rabbit and Sasha Snake. It's a deadly fairy tale; hateful, despondent - yet full of love, elevated with dreamy flute. This one pounds you, while other songs spin you around or even sting like hydrogen peroxide.

Great job, McNeill.

- The Sun


Discography

due for release in 2011- For the Wolf, A Good Meal

° A Dreamers Guide to Hardcore Living 2008/09
° The Wonder Show--March 2006/07
° Such A Common Bird
° What's Your Whiskey Baby?
° To Whom It May Concern

Photos

Bio

i am a lone wolf
a beauty and a beast
both hunter and hunted
soft tongue and sharp teeth
i'm toned from my travels
yet raw from this road
as i drink from storm puddles
and the stories i'm told
WM (from Such a Common Bird)

BIO

Originally from the Prairies of Canada, Wendy's songs retain her love of wide open space and the longing that such big skies can generate.

She is a fan of underdogs, strange cats and brave hearts. These characters are often the centerpieces of her songs which she creates using looped vocals, accordion, and guitar.

Described as an artist that makes 'dark twisted tales' and 'wise moving music', she has been steadily gaining acclaim for her poignant lyrics and captivating live shows. As she stomps and squeezes her way through off-kilter accordion waltzes, dreamlike folk tales, and cabaret style confessionals, her lush, raw voice, shifts from whisper to howl -taking listeners on an emotional roller coaster with a spirit that is both playful and fierce.

in the beginning...
Mcneill's first musical memories were of her parents folk and old country records being drowned out by her older teenage siblings recordings of Pink Floyd, Supertramp, and Black Sabbath.

The first cassette that she fell in love with (around age 5) was a Dolly Parton and Porter Wagner duets album borrowed from her mother's collection. She often lulled herself to sleep with its sad songs. One of her favorites being 'Jeanie's Afraid of the Dark'. A morbid little tale of a girl who dies young.

Her favorite morning music was another of her mothers tapes -- ABBA. To this she enjoyed dancing around in her Wonder Woman costume and playing air guitar while dreaming that she was either a powerful super hero or a pop star.

skip ahead a decade...

By high school she had developed a fondeness for 'Gothic' music and older art rock and punk bands. Sisters of Mercy, Velvet Underground, Siouxie and the Banshees, The Cure, Blondie were among those in high rotation as she experimented with photography, poetry, and contemporary dance.

She continued her dance training at an arts college where she was exposed to avant garde composers, performance artists, jazz, and musical theatre. Inspired-- she began to write sparce piano compositions for her dance pieces and to develop several multi media pieces. She lists Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, Laurie Anderson and Tom Waits as influences.

During this period Wendy paid for her education by working evenings as a bartender in a live music club. The venue had a strong singer/songwriter culture and many characters well versed in the alt- country and folk traditions. While Woodie Guthrie, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, John Prine were frequently covered there was also a wide range of original material. These surroundings fostered her own fledgling songwriting and guitar playing.

Winning a song writing competition awarded Wendy with the opportunity to record her first album, To Whom It May Concern, as well as her first major folk festival showcase -- The Edmonton Folk Music Festival. The critics enjoyed her percussive and unusual guitar style and she was labeled as, "a captivating performer" and, "talented newcomer".

At another festival in 2001, Wendy crossed paths with a French Canadian accordionist. She promptly fell in love with the accordion and added it to her musical mix. This in combination with years of performance experience has recently led one reporter at the Calgary Folkfest 2005 to comment, "Every festival offers someone to discover, and for me that was Wendy McNeill, an Edmonton musician whose sharp-edged songs with accordion and guitar seem like dispatches from a post rock cabaret." Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail July 22/05

McNeill has recorded 5 albums, contributed her music to indie films, dance and theater productions, been showcased on numerous compilation cds, and toured in North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan.

She no longer dreams of being a super hero or a pop star. She still likes Dolly Parton songs and hopes to dance around in a Wonder Woman costume again someday..