Cathy Davey first came to be known as a backing vocalist alongside Carol Keogh for Ken McHugh's project Autamata. McHugh and Davey subsequently collaborated on what "Hot Press" described as "a mixture of otherworldly indie and soft space age melodica". Davey signed to EMI/Parlophone in 2003 in a deal which "Hot Press" later described as having "eclipsed even the high-profile signing of The Thrills". Her rise had been low-profile; she did not perform live until she had signed her record deal. Her four-track debut EP, "Come Over", released in 2004, and in which she "swoops and yelps her way through proceedings with her distinctive voice", was described by the magazine as "inviting comparisons with others before deciding that she'd rather be completely unique if it's all the same with you".