Touching Base With The Anchoress

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Yay! It’s Friday – I’m In Love …. is the new Bandcamp Friday offering from The Anchoress. Officially released on Tuesday (don’t ask me, I think it was Bandcamp’s decision as an end-of-the-month special or something?), it’s the latest regular release that The Anchoress has made.

Catherine is currently working on a covers album – covers? “Re-imagines”? Musical homages? It seems the term ‘cover’ has some disdain or condescending tones attached to it (not for me, I’d like to point out!) – until such time as there is deemed a more apt description, it is what I’ll go with.

I digress.

Catherine has been recording tracks like these during the pandemic and making them available at regular intervals.

This time it has been the turn of The Cure’s Friday I’m In Love. It’s a gorgeous thing. All of Catherine’s covers have been wonderful. Keep an eye on her Bandcamp site for more releases at: https://iamtheanchoress.bandcamp.com/

As a personal side note – I am off to Edinburgh tonight to see Jimmy Webb. I’m both looking forward to it but a little apprehensive at the same time. Not about the gig itself just more that – it’s a bank holiday, it’s Edinburgh, and I’m travelling alone and won’t be getting back to Glasgow until well after midnight! Wish me luck!

The Sunday Round-Up

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I feel as if the blog is getting a tad neglected while I keep on with my academic pursuits. So here is a brief round-up of recent things of note.

Firstly – at 1pm GMT today, Jim will be taking part in a show on BBC Radio 6 Music with Liz Kershaw titled “Legend In Their Own Lunchtime” – Lol! What a title! I’ll be tuned into that. (BBC Sounds link to the program HERE)

Secondly, the magnificent Sarah Brown has a lovely recorded video of I’m On My Way out. You can watch it below.

Lastly (but definitely NOT least!), there are some new releases from The Anchoress – one is an expanded pack release of her much lauded and highly acclaimed The Art Of Losing album, fresh with five acoustic versions of songs featured on the original release.

Also, in honour of International Women’s Day on Tuesday, Catherine has released a song for Bandcamp Friday and only available this weekend (so be quick!). It’s called The Tradition, and is a cover of a Halsey original. You can download the track from Catherine’s Bandcamp page by CLICKING HERE. Again, be quick with this one if you’d like to hear it.

As a side note, my unit of study this week has been concentrating on Mary Wollstonecraft. The broader branch of study is philosophy but I felt it somewhat conveniently placed in time for the study week to fall inline with International Women’s Day on Tuesday. Wollstonecraft’s ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Woman’ still feels like it has relevance today even though we have moved forward in a lot of respects, there is still some ingrained inequality to be dealt with out there.

I don’t think there will ever be true peace and harmony in humankind in all honesty.

On that note…enjoy your Sunday!

Priptona Talks – To The Anchoress

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The new album by The Anchoress, The Art of Losing, is the follow up to debut release Confessions Of A Romance Novelist.

Under her everyday name, Catherine Anne Davies, she had been a touring member of Simple Minds since 2015 and also toured as support for the band as The Anchoress during their UK leg of the 2017 Acoustic Tour.

Co-producing and co-writing work also in 2017 and touring as a guest artist with the Manic Street Preachers, as well as featuring on the track Dylan & Caitlin on the Manics’ 2018 release, Resistance Is Futile.

October, 2020, saw the release of her collaborative album with Bernard Butler, In Memory Of My Feelings. The album received many plaudits and could well be nominated for the Mercury Prize this year.

As a writer, producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist and solo artist, Catherine is quickly amassing an impressive body of work.

It was a huge honour to have Catherine agree to an interview for the Priptona blog.

Please enjoy Priptona Talks…To The Anchoress.

The Art of Losing is out now and available HERE

The Exchange – The Anchoress and James Dean Bradfield

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Wow! What an amazing song and video was released today by The Anchoress! The Exchange with James Dean Bradfield on guest vocals and guitar is just OUT OF THIS WORLD!

And for a video of this magnitude to be made in lockdown – it’s incredible!

GIVE IT A WATCH! I IMPLORE YOU!

Three days until The Art of Losing is released.

Four days until the new “Priptona Talks” interview arrives to the blog…

Has the penny dropped yet?

The Anchoress On Front Row

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Catherine Anne Davies – aka The Anchoress was a guest on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row programme on Tuesday night. In case you missed it, you can listen here. This will remain a permalink of her interview.

I listened in live and it was very good. She was very eloquent, esp. when giving her response to the arts funding boost offered in the latest budget. A mere piss in the ocean. Then again, they dared only give NHS nursing staff a MEAGRE 1% pay rise. Oh, all that money saved from leaving the EU was going to go STRAIGHT into the NHS. Was it just…

Anyway, the wait is nearly over! The Art of Losing is out on Friday, and the Q and A with Pete Paphedis for Rough Trade will happen on Friday evening as well. This is going to be some album launch!

In the meantime, here is the Front Row interview for your lugholes to enjoy.

DARK FLOWERS NEWS! New EP Arriving March 19th – FULL Album To Follow Later…

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The Dark Flowers (aka Paul Statham and friends) are set to release material in a few weeks time, featuring guest vocalists that we know and love.

First to launch will be E.P. “Death and Desire”, released on March 19th and featuring guest vocal performances from Gabriella Cilmi, Shelly Poole and our very own Anchoress. Lead track off the E.P. is titled Death Valley 69 and features David J and Char on vocals.

Even more exciting news, still, will be a follow up release of a full album by Dark Flowers later in the year called Indian Summer, which again features The Anchoress on guest vocals as well as FOUR TRACKS with Jim on vocal duties!

I nearly wet myself when I read this!

Paul was extremely kind to allow me to hear one song some time back which features both Jim and Catherine in a duet and it is wonderful. I will say no more! My lips are SEALED! But to say I am excited by the news of this album’s imminent release would be somewhat of an understatement! I am doing all I can to remain composed enough to type out this post. Lol. It’s probably riddled with mistakes as a result.

You can read lots more info on The Dark Flowers HERE and find links to pre-save the E.P. for streaming upon release date.

Happy days!

Rave Reviews For The Anchoress

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It’s hard to escape all the amazing reviews coming in for The Art Of Losing, the follow up album from 2016 debut Confessions Of A Romance Novelist by The Anchoress.

Below are the latest reviews printed in Mojo, Classic Pop and Record Collector, as well as a short Q and A interview also from Record Collector.

With just under two weeks until release on March 12th, it is certainly going to be if not THE album of the year, then definitely one of the biggest albums of 2021. Do I smell a Mercury nomination….?

The latest single release is the title track itself. Take a listen by finding the YouTube link further below.

Pre-order copies are selling out fast. You can order by going to the store: https://TheAnchoress.lnk.to/TheArtOfLosing