Welsh singing stars team up on new single

Two of Wales’ most acclaimed musicians The Anchoress and Gwenno have joined forces on new single ‘I Had A Baby Not A Lobotomy’.

The Welsh-born producer and songwriter The Anchoress – aka Catharine Anne Davies – has also revealed details of new album ‘As We Once Were’ set to land this summer.

Due to be released on August 7th via ethically minded label Last Night From Glasgow, The Anchoress will toast the album with a special show at The 100 Club in London on August 22nd.

Out now, new single ‘I Had A Baby Not A Lobotomy’ is a neat synth-pop burner, blending 80s aspects – those glorious Vince Clarke masterpieces – with her own unique approach to music-making.

A satirical pop song, The Anchoress is joined by Gwenno. Both have children and the pair push back on the music industry’s belief that once women become mothers… well, it’s all over.

Davies describes the track “a tongue in cheek litany of all the stupid things people said to me when I had a baby”. Propelled by a litany of lyrical barbs, she calls it “an anthem for anyone who has ever been written off for daring to procreate”.

Set to a technicolour vintage synth soundtrack – think John Grant and Depeche Mode meets Stranger Things – the single also features guest vocals from Mercury Music Prize nominated Welsh-Cornish musician Gwenno.

This track is first taste from Davies’ forthcoming third studio album, As We Once Were, which is set to be released on August 7th via her new home with ethically-minded label Last Night From Glasgow.

The single comes alongside the launch of her new podcast, The Milk & The Music, a series of solutions-focused conversations exploring how the music industry grapples with its “Motherhood Penalty”. Forthcoming guests include MPG award winner Lau.ra, Charlotte Hatherley and Gazelle Twin.

Her previous Top 40 second album The Art of Losing garnered wall-to-wall critical plaudits, being named an album of the year by The Sunday Times, The Line of Best Fit, Mail on Sunday, Prog, and hailed as “one of my favourite records of the year” by Sir Elton John.

Self-produced by the three-times Music Producers’ Guild nominated Davies at Black Lodge and Townshend Studios – where she had access to a wealth of vintage synthesizers previously owned by The Who – and mixed by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild), the new album was developed over the past two years, with Davies stockpiling musical ideas after the birth of her daughter, “diving backwards into the past as a means to go forwards”.

She describes the album as “a conversation across four generations of women”, born out of the collision of two moments from the recent past: being given access to work with all of Pete Townshend’s collection of vintage analogue synths at the Townshend Studios in West London against the backdrop of the birth of her first child after numerous losses, and the discovery of 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: a symbolic process which teaches us that through healing and transformation we can create something more valuable than before. 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, reminding us that imperfection is not a weakness.”

The new release is announced following a triumphant run of UK dates at the close of 2025 that culminated in headline shows at London’s Union Chapel, after appearing with Manic Street Preachers at their 2025 UK dates.

The Anchoress will play a one-off album launch show at London’s legendary 100 Club – the oldest independent venue in the world – on Saturday 22nd August to celebrate the release of the new album. The show will be an early curfew of 10pm with a parent-friendly stage time. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Tuesday 14th April.

The album is now available to pre-order from www.lastnightfromglasgow.com on 2LP, gatefold CD, deluxe 2CD mediabook, and cassette.