We’ll Have A Time was the last album Dear Nora would record as a full band; after its release, singer Katy Davidson moved to San Francisco, leaving the rest of the band in Portland. Both The New Year and Mountain Rock were essentially solo outings for Davidson, as Dreaming Out Loud was. And just as Dreaming Out Loud served as a folkish counterpoint to You Make Me Smile, Dear Nora’s later releases would see Davidson return to simple, spare bedroom folk. There seems to be more to the stylistic shift than simple logistics; left to her own devices, Davidson seems to prefer a more introspective approach and doesn’t seem too interested in striking up a full band again.

So Dear Nora’s charm is no longer the unrestrained twee-pop energy of a college-age band, but the quieter pleasures of songs like “A Polar Bear.” You can still hear the 60s influences, but whereas earlier material seemed more inspired than directly influenced by the girl-group sound, Dear Nora’s later output is more overtly nostalgic in sound.