Kate Davis fills her own music with a certain radiant magic that shines just as brightly on her new cover of Daniel Johnston‘s “I’ll Do Anything But Break Dance For Ya, Darling.” A slow-burning cover that blossoms into fireworks of fluttering synths and soft harmonies, Davis’ take on the timeless tune is painted with bolder, broader strokes than the quaint original. The same smoldering enchantment of these lyrics were given more dimension in the layering of Davis’ warm voice as the kaleidoscope of textures in this arrangement swelled in and faded out of the song’s careful progression. She’s given this little, love song the kind of big indie rock heartbeat that makes us excited to hear her transform more of Johnston’s music.
Kate Davis has teamed up with Daniel Johnston’s charity, the Hi How Are You Project, to record a cover album of Johnston’s Retired Boxer, with a portion of the proceeds from sales/streaming going to the charity. As the charity is highly focused on educating people around mental health issues, they are putting together a live stream fundraiser for Mental Health Day this Saturday, Oct 10 in which Davis will be streaming a pre-recorded live performance.
“I’ll Do Anything But Break Dance For Ya, Darling” is the first single from Davis’ forthcoming cover album Strange Boy due out Jan 15, 2021 on Solitaire Recordings. Look out for the video of her live performance on Youtube next week and listen to more Kate Davis here.
