We have our Canadian friends at Accordion Noir to thank for turning us on to today’s artist — Edmonton-born singer/accordionist Wendy McNeill. Now based in Sweden, McNeill blends intimate, narrative folk with dreamy, melancholy cabaret. Her latest album, A Dreamer’s Guide to Hardcore Living, keeps her accordion and voice at the center, but adds swelling, orchestral arrangements to the mix. Above all, though, McNeill is a natural storyteller, sharing strange and expressive tales of faith, temptation, shape-shifting coyotes, and more. Take a listen and I think you’ll see why she’s rapidly becoming one of our favorite accordion-toting artists.
Buy A Dreamer’s Guide to Hardcore Living by Wendy McNeill
And as an added bonus, here’s the clever video for Wendy’s “Ask Me No Questions”, shot in one continuous take:
I also highly recommend a pair of videos filmed by Pocket Music during Wendy’s trip to São Paolo, Brazil. The one where she strolls through the open-air market while people stop and dance along to her music is fantastic.
2 Comments:
We do love Wendy McNeill!
by Bruce Triggs of Accordion Noir Radio on July 13th, 2009
thanks for this post. I hadn’t heard of her before and now I am a fan!
by Elena on July 19th, 2009