EP, Sour Pie, with the debut long-player, Stuff. A deal with Universal Records afforded her fancy production, the run of studios in L.A. and San Francisco, and plenty of pressure."I was a little messed up," says McNarland. "Everything was just overwhelming. I'd worked so hard to put out the first EP and get a deal. Then I had one, and I couldn't see what was next."

McNarland says she plowed ahead the only way she knew how. She retained the services of trusted Sour Pie producer Dale Penner. Original rhythm section Mark Pullyblank and Adam Drake stayed on board. Stuff also features former Pixies guitar hero Joey Santiago.

"I was always looking for guitarists who were influenced by The Pixies," McNarland muses. "We wound up getting the real thing. When I met him, I had to hold my coffee cup with both hands, I was shaking so much."

McNarland also exorcised any demons of apprehension through songwriting. Her self-examinations take centre stage on Stuff.

"I think if everybody could write songs, people would be better off," she says. "If you're in a weird state you can write about it without having to talk to people about it.

"But learning how to write songs without being depressed is my ultimate goal. When I'm happy I don't want to pick up a guitar and start pouring out my feelings. In life, it takes less effort to be negative. The same goes for songwriting."

The singer doesn't just reserve this honesty for herself. She flatly turned down a spot on this summer's Lilith Fair because she felt its all-woman concept was "unproductive.

"Men have been excluding women from festivals, but there's no point in us doing the same thing. It does open doors for women, but that could have been done without making it like high school -- boys on one side and girls on the other."

Likewise, McNarland isn't jazzed about the rather inaccurate comparisons frequently made about her and Alanis Morissette.

"I'm not a fan," she says, adding with a laugh: "I might warrant the comparisons if I hadn't already completed a record when she popped up."

Still, she isn't one to complain.

"Going out after shows, meeting these kids. It makes you appreciate this job. I mean, how hard is my job, really? I'm having fun and people are giving me money for it. That's crazy.

"Everyone who whines about the recording business can blow it out their ass, 'cause it's not that hard."