
Portland, Oregon's Dear Nora is nominally a trio, though their 7-inch EP "Dreaming Out Loud" (Magic Marker) was actually written and recorded solely by singer/guitarist Katy Davidson-in 24 hours. Which, considering that it includes eight songs, is a neat trick. (If a lot of them seem to be about herself, playing music and being in her room, thats's understandable under the circumstances; calling one song "One Two Three Four" though, would be pushing it if it weren't such a good little tune.) Davidson's a big hearted la-la pop formalist-Heavenly's tender refractions of early Beatles are obviously a big influence-and the formal limitations and casualness of this project make her carefully worked-out harmonies even more charming.
- Douglas Wolk, CMJ Monthly
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