The Anchoress announces new album As We Once Were with single about parenting clichés

The track, “I Had a Baby Not a Lobotomy” features guest vocals from fellow Welsh singer/songwrier Gwenno and is described by Davies as “a tongue in cheek litany of all the stupid things people said to me when I had a baby”. The songs, she adds, functions as “an anthem for anyone who has ever been written off for daring to procreate”.

Davies describes As We Once Were as “a conversation across four generations of women”. The album’s origins trace back to two converging moments: working with Pete Townshend’s analogue synths against the backdrop of becoming a mother after multiple losses, and discovering her grandmother’s voice on a long-lost cassette tape in her mother’s attic.

“As I pulled on the threads I began on a journey into my genetic past and our cultural past in order to piece myself back together in something akin to Japanese kintsugi,” she says. “Whilst, in the words of the title track of the album, ‘We can’t ever be the same as we once were’, kintsugi shows us how to value our scars as a symbol of strength and resilience.”

The record was self-produced by Davies at Black Lodge and Townshend Studios with mixing duties from Dave Eringa, known for his work with Manic Street Preachers and Idlewild.

The announcement also comes with news of a one-off album launch show at London’s 100 Club on 22 August, with a parent-friendly 10pm curfew. Davies has also launched a podcast, The Milk & The Music, exploring the music industry’s “Motherhood Penalty” with guests including Lau.ra, Charlotte Hatherley and Gazelle Twin.

As We Once Were artwork