THE ANCHORESS announces new single & ‘Versions’ album ahead of UK tour

The Anchoress
Credit: Darren Feist

The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies) has announced a new single ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ via the recently relaunched Drowned In Sound Label.

Produced by Davies and mixed by Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Laurie Anderson), the dream pop, vintage synth-drenched reworking of the New Order classic is set for release on April 14th 2023, and is the first track to be released from her forthcoming covers album entitled Versions, compiling re-imaginings of songs by the likes of Nirvana, Nico and Halsey.

The single lands alongside her tour dates for Spring & Autumn 2023 (including some rescheduled dates from last year). Catherine played her first show of 2023 in January at the Rockaway Beach festival in January and was hailed as “the most compelling artist of the weekend” by Under the Radar Magazine and received a stellar four-star lead review in the Mail on Sunday: “A commanding presence, she would have made a great Smash Hits cover… Her new band add depth evoking post-punk as well as electro… an artful mix of gloss and gravitas.”

She has also recently been nominated for this year’s Music Producers Guild Awards in the “Self-Producer Artist of the Year” category, alongside Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) and Hannah Peel.

“I first heard ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ via the Frente! acoustic cover version before discovering the New Order original and falling for it all over again… It’s always felt like a very mysterious novella to me. As every perfect song should, it allows the listener to project their own meaning and narrative onto it. I’ve thrown in every synth from the Fairlight to the DX7 and Arp from my studio, along with my best homage to mid-90s smooth disco. While the original is perfection, I hope you’ll like my reworking as it goes through The Anchoress sausage machine and creates a new synth cocktail for your listening pleasure.”

The Versions album will be released this autumn on vinyl, as well as a full digital release. It follows on the heels of the acclaimed top 40 album The Art of Losing, hailed by Caitlin Moran as “the inadvertent, beautiful, and truthful soundtrack to this moment” and The Sunday Times named as one of their 7 “must-hear” Albums of 2021. Elton John also praised it as “one of my favourite records of the year”; PROG magazine named it their album of the year too.

Following its release, Catherine had an exceptionally busy 2022, co-producing her BBC 6 Music supported collaboration with Band Spectra, recording and producing ‘Versions EP1’ – her first volume of re-interpretations, alongside creating a new French language version of album track ‘Let It Hurt’. She has also built a growing reputation as an in-demand remixer for artists such Bishi, Dot Allison, and Thea Gilmore, and has produced and mixed on the forthcoming Hen Hoose collective vol. 2 compilation.

The Versions LP is set for release in Autumn 2023, with single tracks released in the coming weeks and months.

2023 Tour

30 April DURHAM, Northern Kin Festival
1 May HUDDERSFIELD, The Parish
9 May GUILDFORD, Boileroom
10 May BRIGHTON, Komedia
12 May NOTTINGHAM, Rescue Rooms
13 May MANCHESTER, Deaf Institute
14 May HEBDEN BRIDGE, Trades Club
17 May GLOUCESTER, Guildhall
18 May BIRMINGHAM, Academy
20 May LONDON, Queen Elizabeth Hall
21 May BRISTOL, Thekla

2-3 Sept DORSET, End Of The Road Festival

21 Sept LIVERPOOL, Leaf
22 Sept EDINBURGH, Summerhall
23 Sept HULL, Central Library
24 Sept LEEDS, Brudenell Social Club
30 Sept CARDIFF, Acapella
4 Oct CAMBRIDGE, Junction

 

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*