The Anchoress

The Anchoress is the stage name of Welsh musician/songwriter Catherine Anne Davies, who also records under the nom de plume Catherine A.D. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, chanteuse, and singer/songwriter specializing in a heady blend of gothic chamber pop and dark atmospheric art rock, Davies has drawn comparisons to PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Anna Calvi, My Brightest Diamond, and Kate Bush.
She issued a series of well-received independently released EPs before switching over to the Anchoress moniker in 2014 and issuing the EP One for Sorrow. Around the same time, Davies joined Simple Minds as part of their touring band, yet this didn’t impede the creation of her debut full-length, 2016′s Confessions of a Romance Novelist. The record was co-produced by friend and collaborator Paul Draper (Mansun); Davies returned the favor by co-writing five tracks on Draper’s debut solo album, Spooky Action, in 2017. The following year, Davies disconnected from Simple Minds, giving her time to focus on her second Anchoress record, The Art of Losing, which appeared in 2021. ~ James Christopher Monger