“A great, dark classic pop song” - Steve Lamacq, BBC 6Music

“Imperious vocals…oddball & accessible.” - 20 tracks you have to hear this week, NME
 
“What happened to Mansun's Paul Draper? Well, he's producing The Anchoress and the results are quite something” – CLASH

‘What Goes Around’ is the debut limited edition single from The Anchoress - a new project from Welsh London-based multi-instrumentalist Catherine Anne Davies, co-produced with Paul Draper. Set for release 5th May 2014 as a limited edition of 500 clear heavyweight vinyl (which sold out in 24 hours on preorder) via the prestigious Too Pure label (PJ Harvey, Stereolab, Hookworms), ‘What Goes Around’ is the first taste of The Anchoress’ forthcoming debut album and is a refreshing blast of “revenge pop”, with angular guitars and barbed lyrics framing this anthem about karmic balance.

‘What Goes Around’ will be released on May 5th 2014 via TOO PURE.

www.iamtheanchoress.com

Produced by Paul Draper & Catherine Anne Davies
Mixed by Cenzo Townsend
Mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios

Catherine Anne Davies: Vocal, Piano, Mellotron, Organ, BVs
Paul Draper: Guitar & BVs
Ben Sink: Electric Guitar
Ben Stack: Bass
Jon Barnett: Drums
Strings: Gillian Wood (cello), Mary Kelly (viola), Vicky Falconer Pritchard (violin)
String Arrangement by Gillian Wood

What Goes Around

Bizarre Love Triangle

Climbing Up The Walls

Versions

Martha's Harbour

Friday I'm In Love

Sweetness Follow

Enjoy The Silence

The Tradition

Pennyroyal Tea

Philip Reach Requiem mix of 'One For Sorrow' taken from the One For Sorrow EP by The Anchoress. Additional production and mix by @philipreach

"Davies is making music like nobody else at the moment" - NME

The Anchoress is Welsh multi-instrumentalist Catherine Anne Davies. This mix, taken from the One For Sorrow EP (out now via Hiraeth/PIAS), was produced by Philip Reach (http://soundcloud.com/philipreach) and is the second taste of her forthcoming debut album Confessions of a Romance Novelist, due Summer 2015. The lead single from the EP won the 6Music Rebel Playlist and Catherine’s self-described brand of “revenge pop” has already been been championed by the NME, Clash and The Line of Best Fit. Catherine will be joining Simple Minds on their European and UK tours from Feb – May 2015.

RADIO/ONLINE: matthew@enganche.co.uk
PRESS: gillian@halllornothing.com

an·cho·ress [ang-ker-is] noun

A woman who is an anchorite - a person who lives in seclusion, esp. a religious recluse; hermit; one who has retired from the world.

The ‘One For Sorrow’ EP is the second release from The Anchoress - a new project from Welsh multi-instrumentalist Catherine Anne Davies, co-produced with Paul Draper (Mansun). The dark southern gothic of ‘Long Year’ offers fans a first taste of the EP, and is now streaming on NME.com

‘Long Year’ was mixed by Gareth Jones (Merchandise/Depeche Mode/Interpol) and will be released as part of the ‘One For Sorrow’ EP on 3rd November 2014 via Hiraeth/PIAS as a limited edition 12” vinyl and special edition CD with romance novel. The EP follows debut single ‘What Goes Around’ - which riffed on everything from Newtonian law to medieval philosophy, as you might expect from a musician with a PhD - and is the second taste of the forthcoming debut album 'Confessions of a Romance Novelist' (due for release in 2015).

Paul Draper helped to capture the collection of songs on which Catherine played a variety of instruments, including piano, guitar, flute, omnichord, mellotron, wurlitzer, glockenspiel, and celeste, as well as multi-tracking up to 25 vocal harmonies on some of the songs. Yet, recording was interrupted by a series of events that threatened to derail the project completely, including Catherine injuring her hand so badly during a 48-hour recording session that she was told she might not play again and had to wear a metal cast for 6 months. She says:

“This has been made on a wing and a prayer, lots of favours, one car crash, one death, one broken hand, and a lot of patience on so many parts. Stir in 3 jobs, 4 studios, 1 arrest, 3 pianos, 40 songs and 1 very patient engineer… and you get some way to understanding what a long road it has been….”

---
PRAISE FOR 'WHAT GOES AROUND':

“A great, dark classic pop song” - STEVE LAMACQ, BBC 6MUSIC

“Imperious vocals… oddball & accessible.” - 20 tracks you have to hear this week, NME

“What happened to Mansun's Paul Draper? Well, he's producing The Anchoress and the results are quite something” - CLASH

'What Goes Around' is one hell of an introduction, mixing epic Broadway strings with military drums, a sprinkling of Disney pianos, menacing slithers of riffs, and lyrics that make you fear ever messing with womankind." - DROWNED IN SOUND

“Shimmering pop heart and infectious hooks” - GoldFlake Paint

“A powerful opening gambit from The Anchoress” - Louder Than War

“Bites like Aimee Mann and will leave you chomping for more” - Societe Perrier ‘5 hottest acts’

One for Sorrow

One for Sorrow (Philip Reach Requiem Mix)

Love Will Tear Us Apart

Written by Catherine Anne Davies
Produced by Paul Draper & Catherine Anne Davies

THE ANCHORESS: CONFESSIONS OF A ROMANCE NOVELIST
Debut album released January 8th 2016 (Digital)January 15th 2016(Physical)
Label: Kscope

Preorder on iTunes:
http://smarturl.it/COARN_DIGITAL

Deluxe gatefold CD with 20 page booklet:
https://www.burningshed.com/store/kscope/

"D​avies is making music like nobody else at the moment." - NME

"W​ales's (much more explicitly feminist) answer to Lana Del Rey.​"  - Ann Powers, NPR

Revenge-pop? The prog Karen Carpenter? Barbra Streisand on acid? Bat For Lashes on a book-binge? Whatever way you choose to describe ‘Confessions of A Romance Novelist’, the debut album by The Anchoress, one thing’s for sure: it packs a punch. Did I say “punch”? On tracks like ‘P.S. Fuck You’ it’s more of a kick. In the balls. Of an ex. who most definitely sounds like they deserved it…
 
The album is due for release on January 8th 2016 via Kscope, home to Grammy nominated Steven Wilson, Mercury Prize nominees Sweet Billy Pilgrim, and British rock gods Anathema.  A brand new track ‘Popular’ is available now with pre-orders of the album.
 
Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, PhD and producer Catherine Anne Davies (aka The Anchoress) sums up the album’s overall concept as "deconstructing normative ideas of love and romance", with each song sung by a different character – “what you might call a musical ghost writing of sorts”. You can hear this distilled in the Prince-inspired feminist manifesto ‘One For Sorrow’ that questions the concept of marriage. There’s a different take on obsessional love in the album’s title track, where the album’s narrator ironically references her “bedroom shrine to Margaret Thatcher”. Meanwhile, 'You And Only You' - an anthemic ode to being better off alone - features the distinctive operatic indie-wail of Mansun's Paul Draper, who co-produced the album with Catherine.
 
Draper helped to capture the collection of songs on which Catherine played a variety of instruments, including piano, guitar, flute, omnichord, mellotron, wurlitzer, glockenspiel, and celeste, as well as multi-tracking up to 25 vocal harmonies on some of the songs. Yet, recording was interrupted by a series of events that threatened to derail the project completely, including Catherine injuring her hand so badly during a 48-hour recording session that she was told she might not play again and had to wear a metal cast for 6 months. She says: “This has been made on a wing and a prayer, lots of favours, one car crash, one death, one broken hand, and a lot of patience on so many parts. Stir in 3 jobs, 4 studios, 2 arrests, 3 pianos, 40 songs and 1 very patient engineer… and you get some way to understanding what a long road it has been.”
 
The album follows two sold-out singles, which were playlisted on both BBC 6Music and Xfm, and received plaudits across the globe, from America’s NPR, to Les Inrockuptibles in France, the NME, and influential websites like The Quietus and Line of Best Fit.
 
The Anchoress is currently on tour with Simple Minds, co-writing Paul Draper's debut solo album, and has begun working on her second album with Bernard Butler.
 
“Deft, engrossing lyrical work with some beautifully dark arrangements… an enthralling return” - CLASH
 
 "A strutting howl of a vocal and grit-edged guitar… a sprawl of dark southern gothic"  - THE QUIETUS

www.iamtheanchoress.com/
 
For more information:
National Press: Gillian@hallornothing.com
Online PR: louisa.worskett@caroline.com
Radio: fuzz.chaudhrey@caroline.com
Regional Press: Tom@hallornothing.com



Confessions Of A Romance Novelis

Confessions of a Romance Novelist

Unravel

Show Your Face

 "...equal parts prog and pop,  oddball & accessible."  NME
"...a flawless and sophisticated hyper-literate pop record." GQ
 "...delightfully theatrical and sharp as a bloody blade. Wales' much more explicitly feminist answer to Lana Del Rey.” ANN POWERS, NPR
“...a literate, ambitious and engrossing return... a brooding yet patiently anthemic cut.” CLASH
 “...as comfortable at CBGB’s as in Broadway theatres.” LES INROCKUPTIBLES
"... a sprawl of dark southern gothic."  THE QUIETUS
"...Davies is making music like nobody else at the moment."  NME 
“...a dark, intricate and intelligent debut… an album of distinctive sound and ambitious ideals.” LOUDER THAN WAR 

an·cho·ress [ang-ker-is] noun
A woman who is an anchorite - a person who lives in seclusion, esp a religious recluse; hermit; one who has retired from the world.

The Anchoress is a new project from Welsh multi-instrumentalist Catherine Anne Davies.

The Anchoress

Popular tracks