Confessions...

...of a Romance Novelist is not an album title guaranteed to appeal to me -conjuring up images of Barbara Cartland and Mills and Boon.  Don't panic though, it's an avowedly literary album but - certainly as far as many of the reviewers have commented - from a more feminist stance than you might associate with the above.

The literary theme is maintained throughout the album and its cover: the booklet is laid out in the form of a book; every track has an epigraph quoting from a novelist, poet or artist; the lyrics come with a reading list (two pages including Georges Bataille, Roland Barthes, Barbara Cartland (FFS!), Carl Jung and Susan Sontag to name but a few); and the back cover has the song titles in the form of a stack of paperbacks with recognisable publishing house styles. A very coherent theme.

The artist name also bothered me - The Anchoress - what does it mean? Does it mean anything?  Given all of the above, it clearly must and a little research shows that an anchoress is a term from Christianity which means "a woman who chooses to withdraw from the world to live a solitary life of prayer and mortification". The artist pseudonym combined with the song titles and lyrics suggests both a history and a world view of the persona portrayed here. For the record 'The Anchoress' is Catherine Anne Davies, also known as Catherine AD, a Welsh singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

What really matters is the music and fortunately the high concept is not just shiny packaging concealing a throwaway toy, nor is it yet another identikit solo female artist outing. There are good songs, interesting arrangements with a path being forged between prog and pop - a compelling approach when done well, as it is here.

Ultimately fine words are no substitute for listening to the songs, so here are a few of my favourite tracks from the album and, as always, make up your own mind. Listen to all three!

Doesn't Kill You...

One for Sorrow...

P.S. Fuck You...

As a final footnote - especially since it was how I discovered The Anchoress some months before the album was released - the album was co-produced by Catherine and Paul Draper (of Mansun fame). Paul also sings with Catherine on one track and co-wrote several of the songs.  

Come to think of it Mansun deserve a piece here someday - an undeservedly neglected band who released two excellent albums "Attack of the Grey Lantern" and "Six". Watch this space!

Finally here's a link to website of The Anchoress