''The Art of Losing'' is the second studio album by Welsh musician The Anchoress (birth name Catherine Anne Davies). It was released on 12 March 2021 by

Kscope Kscope is an independent record label that is part of Snapper Music, and a sister-label of Peaceville. It is dedicated to artists in the progressive rock genre. The label has released albums by Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree (m ...

. Written and produced by Davies, the record has a dark

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- pop sound. Lyrically, it draws from grief, fury, and Davies's personal experiences. Upon release, the album was met with critical acclaim, with praise towards Davies's storytelling.

Background and release

Elizabeth Bishop, 1934 yearbook portrait

''The Art of Losing'' follows Davies's 2020 collaboration project ''In Memory of My Feelings'' with

Bernard Butler Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the first guitarist with Suede, until his departure in 1994. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his ...

, that was written and recorded over 15 days. It also marks her first full-length release since her 2016 debut album, ''

Confessions of a Romance Novelist ''Confessions of a Romance Novelist'' is the debut album from The Anchoress aka Catherine Anne Davies. Released on 15 January 2016, the album received a favourable critique from ''The Guardian''. The album was named amongst the ''Guardian'' crit ...

''. According to Davies, ''The Art of Losing'' was inspired by the works of musicians, such as Scott Walker,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, and the

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. It was written and produced by Davies, and features a guest appearance by frequent collaborator

James Dean Bradfield James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. Biography Early life B ...

. The album derives its title from the opening line of American poet

Elizabeth Bishop Elizabeth Bishop (February 8, 1911 – October 6, 1979) was an American people, American poet and short-story writer. She was Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1949 to 1950, the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the N ...

's poem "

One Art "One Art" is a poem by American poet Elizabeth Bishop, originally published in ''The New Yorker'' in 1976. Later that same year, Bishop included the poem in her book ''Geography III'', which includes other works such as "In the Waiting Room" and ...

" (1976) – "The art of losing isn't hard to master". The album incorporates a dark

- pop production. The production features

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cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

. Lyrically, the

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

is about the "sensation of loss". It explores themes of grief, fury, trauma, and the singer's personal experiences. The record was announced in November 2020, alongside the cover-art and track list. The fourth track, "Show Your Face", was simultaneously served as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album. In the lead-up to the release of the album, "Unravel" was served as the second single on 4 December 2020, while the title track was delivered as the third single on 22 January 2021. ''The Art of Losing'' was released on 12 March 2021 by

Critical reception

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, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 83, based on six reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Writing for ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'', Steven Loftin dubbed the album as "a collection of songs that each sits within the calloused hand of grief, desperately trying to unfurl its infuriatingly homely fingers with an embittered rage". Reviewing for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', El Hunt lauded Davies's "raw and unfiltered" lyricism and the production. Hunt described the album as both "painful and familiar" and wrote that it "captures the unpredictable, spinning chaos of grief with a searing precision that's hard to turn away from". Similarly, Josh Gray of '' Clash'' praised Davies's "authorial voice and ability" to tell an honest story, as well as the album's sound. ''

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

''s Steven Murphy felt the album was "a palpable step up for Davies". In FMS Magazine, Jimi Arundell described the "stoic yet stylish" record as "a true masterpiece which transforms her own tragedies into a universal language of pain". "The Art of Losing" which was named amongst the "Best Albums of 2021" by numerous publications including the Sunday Times, Prog Magazine, Record Collector, The Line of Best Fit, The Sun, Yorkshire Post, and Classic Rock.

Year-end lists

Track listing

All tracks were written and produced by Davies.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Art of Losing 2021 albums Kscope albums The Anchoress (musician) albums