We’ll Have a Time by Dear Nora is a pretty nice experience. The album has a total of 12 songs with a runtime of 26 minutes and 2 seconds. It was released on the 13th of February, 2001. There were two releases, one on CD and Vinyl LP and another a year later on CD with bonus tracks. This was their first album, with there being seven total. The album is considered indie pop, twee pop, and indie folk.
Dear Nora, is a band that was created in Portland, Oregon during 1999. Katy Davidson, Marianna Ritchey and Ryan Wise were the three founding members who created We’ll Have a Time, they were all classmates attending the Lewis & Clark College. Katy Davidson did vocals and guitar. Marianna Ritchey played drums and vocals. Lastly Ryan Wise was the bassist. More members joined and left over the years until 2008, when the band went into an indefinite hiatus. Katy Davidson decided to start the band back up with new members in 2017 after a reissue of the 2004 album Mountain Rock had success.
There’s a big issue with the album; all the songs are pretty short. Most of the songs are around two minutes long, with the longest one having a slow and boring intro. The actual contents of the songs are all really nice, with most of the songs being pretty soft and bittersweet. There is a bit of repetition in some of the songs but it is not nearly as bad as other albums I’ve listened to. My favorite songs are Round and ‘Round, You Looked Like a Portrait and From My Bedroom Window.
I don’t like it when songs are really short, and Dear Nora does it a lot. Their newest album, which was released in the past five years, is still filled with songs hovering at that two minute mark. For me a short song blocks me from actually getting into it. I don’t think it’s the band’s fault though, they probably expected the album to be listened to in full which definitely alleviates that. I’m going to give We’ll Have a Time by Dear Nora a 3.? as there isn’t much value to listen to individual songs. It is a good experience if you listen to the entire thing as it doesn’t really have any low points.
