The Anchoress announces debut LP Confessions Of A Romance Novelist, streams lead cut "Popular"

Catherine Anne Davies PhD (aka The Anchoress), a multi-instrumentalist from Wales with a fondness for literature, released two well-received singles last year, including "One For Sorrow". Speaking about the album's concept, Davies says that its about "deconstructing normative ideas of love and romance", and that each song is from the point of view of a different character - “what you might call a musical ghost writing of sorts”.

The album was co-produced with Mansun's Paul Draper, who also guests on "You And Only You", and has taken a fair while to come to fruition. There was a point where it may have never arrived, after Davies injured her hand so severely she was left in a metal cast for six months wondering if she'd ever play an instrument again: "This [album] 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 three jobs, four studios, two arrests, three pianos, 40 songs and one very patient engineer… and you get some way to understanding what a long road it has been.”

Confessions Of A Romance Novelist is out on 8 January via Kscope.

Stream "Popular" below.