| CD REVIEW Wendy McNeill |
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Band : Wendy McNeill Gee, I turned over the thought in my mind a couple of times, before deciding to the fact that the best way to describe what you’ll get to hear on A Dreamer’s Guide To Hardcore Living, is to used excerpts from the bio we got along with our (download) copy of the album, and add my own comments in between…so here goes : “…Originally from the prairies of Canada…” (born & raised in Edmonton, Alberta, I understand she now calls Sweden a second home) “…Wendy’s songs retain her love of wide open space and the longing that such big skies can generate. She is a fan od “underdogs”, “strange cats” and brave hearts. These are often the centerpieces od her songs, which she creates using looed vocals…” (and therefore in fact àll the vocals you’ll hear on her vocals are hers!) “…accordion, and guitar.” (and if that makes you think we’ve got to do with some Folk artist here, you would be quite right! In fact, her “darker” lyrics have made her somewhat of a star in the Folk Noir genre, both in her own country and abroad, for she’s brought her music live to the whole of North America, Brazil, Europe, and Japan! Her previous albums include her debut album To Whom It May Concern, 2001’s What’s Your Whiskey, Baby?, 2004/5’s Such A Common Bird, and 2006/7’s The Wonder Show.) “…A compelling blend of the bold and the vulnerable with hints of cabaret and spoken word. Music for dark hearted dreamers…” Apparently she’d been touring as a trio with an additional double bass player and a cellist, and wanted to capture the warmth and energy those instruments give of in combination with her voice and accordion, and this led the trio to record “live” to 2-inch tape in a cozy barn in the South of Sweden. Recording engineer/ co-producer Christopher Lindqvist also assisted the trio in adding additional instrumental textures using celesta, toy and tack piano, the Balkanesque heel of Marxophone and zither, and embellishing the whole with a plenitude of percussion instruments (marimba, timpani, cymbals, bells), as well as some sparce mellotron samples! The whole is far from what the usual Concrete Web reader normally will listen to, but those among you having come across the charms of The Dresden Dolls (or the Amanda Palmer solo project) will definitely fall for the chams of this charming Canadian filly! She has a warm and versatile steady voice, which is the centerpoint of the whole, and well worth listening to (especially with the wacky stories she tells/sings). Check it all out at myspace.com/wendymcneill, where you’ll find no less than 5 tracks off the album. Pity “The Sad Sssad Story Of Rosa Rabbit And Sasha Snake” ain’t one of ‘em! I mean, that fable-like story is simply to die for! Prior to the Canadian release (September 2008 through Six Shooter Records, distributed there by major label Warner Music – that how much they think of this lady in her homecountry) of the album (Sweden followed in October ’08, Spain in November, Switzerland in January ’09, and June ‘09 made it available in a large part of the rest of Europe thanks to a new deal with Germany’s Haldern Pop Recordings) a bunch of Wendy McNeill’s Swedish friends gathered in the neighbourhood of Nynäshamn to aid in the shooting of a video for the track “Ask Me No Questions”, which is also available at both her MySpace page and her own website wendymcneill.com! Nice, very nice!!! 88/100 Tony. |
