Yellowknife (Feb 25/04) - Wendy McNeill doesn't describe her music as folk. She says she plays "folk noir."

"I'm pulling the noir from film noir," she said.

"It's a style of film that is stark and where a character makes a choice then must deal with the consequences. And there are lots of people lingering in shadow."

The Edmonton-based singer/songwriter brings her uniquely dark brand of folk to Lucille's Cabaret tonight and tomorrow.

During her last visit to Yellowknife, seven years ago, she took a 22-hour bus ride to meet her then-boyfriend, who was playing here. She ended up doing some soul searching.

"I was kind of battling with what direction I should focus on," she said.

"Pat Braden and his lovely wife offered me inspiration."

Braden remembers the time McNeill spent camping out in his backyard.

"She saw a musician having a home life," said Braden. "She saw that it was possible to have a semblance of a normal life and pursue your goals of being a dancer or a musician."

McNeill did a show at Javaroma then headed back south with her boyfriend in a 1979 Volvo station wagon packed to the brim with equipment. From there, her career has shot upwards.

Recent success

She performed on the main stage last summer at the Edmonton folk festival and is coming to Yellowknife fresh from the Frostbite Festival in Whitehorse.

After her Yellowknife performances she returns to Edmonton for the release party of her third CD, Such a Common Bird.

She said her "folk noir" style just evolved from the subject matter of her songs.

"When I first started writing, my songs were mostly of the confessional variety and usually had darker themes, people making bad choices," she said.

"Gradually my focus has broadened. Now I'm seeing those traits on a grander scale.

"Whether I write a biographical tune about a musical legend like Edith Piaf ("The Sparrow") or a tune about someone who battled the corporate machine ("Julien") that tension is still there. Those same dark threads are weaving the plot even when I jostle it up with humour."