“In 1999, Dear Nora’s Katy Davidson spent 24 hours in Portland writing and recording the eight-song Dreaming Out Loud 7-inch. Each perfect, tiny track features Davidson’s acoustic guitar, tuning fork-clean vocal self-harmonies and casual lyrics (’I know I’m away/ But you’ll always stay in my heart’). You’d be hard-pressed to find a more satisfying and complete 14 minutes of music. Lucky for vinylphobes, Dreaming Out Loud is collected on Three States, Magic Marker’s two-disc Dear Nora B-sides and rarities set. It turns out that Davidson—now based in Los Angeles—did a lot of her best work away from official, full-length albums. From fleshed-out band songs with elaborate guitar-rock bridges (’Sarah, You’re Not for Me’) to minimal verse-chorus vignettes that sound like demo versions of crushing Big Star songs you’ve never heard (’One Night in the Moment,’ ‘The Northern Side’), there’s an awful lot of gold in here. Great versions of Dylan’s ‘Girl from the North Country,’ the Zombies’ ‘This Will Be Our Year’ and Missy Elliott’s ‘Hot Boyz’ help complete the 57-song package, but a single listen to Davidson’s two-minute, Springsteenesque ‘Fargo’ (’Cheap liquor and cigarettes/ Neon signs and off-track bets/ Granddad in the supermarket aisle/ And all the kids in old Cadillacs cruise the mile’) should convince you of her oft-overlooked genius.”
Casey Jarman, Willamette Week (Portland, Oregon)
Review, Three States: Rarities 1997-2007
“[There's a] disconcerting, audio-diary-like quality…the listener starts to wonder how much of this is an act, and if Katy Davidson, is, y’know, okay.”
Stewart Mason, allmusic.com
About Lloyd & Michael
“…there’s a subversive element to this cross-legged and otherworldly folk pop that’s both accessible and utterly odd.”
Matt Thrower, Rave Magazine (Brisbane, Australia)