Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Seven months pregnant and preparing a tour to promote her new album, ``Harpo's Ghost,'' British folk- rock singer Thea Gilmore is learning to play the guitar sideways, propped against her hip.

``It could be the first live birth on a rock 'n' roll stage,'' Gilmore, 26, joked during an interview from her home near Manchester. ``That could be quite interesting. People might get their money's worth.''

``Harpo's Ghost'' is her first album in three years. Scheduled for U.S. release tomorrow on Sanctuary Records, the songs follow her plunge into clinical depression, a breakup with her producer and longtime partner, Nigel Stonier, and her father's battle with cancer.

They also reflect the hope that followed when her father recovered and treatment helped relieve her depression. Finally, she and Stonier, 49, got back together and married last year.

``It all sounds like a sort of fairy-tale ending to that particular phase of my life,'' Gilmore said. ``It's a nice beginning.''

Gilmore is known for dark, articulate takes on relationships, politics and the music industry, and anger is a force in the new album. ``We Built a Monster'' is about the consequences of globalization. ``Red, White and Black'' muses on unexamined patriotism inspired by her 2004 tour with Joan Baez.

Those tracks are tempered by tracks like ``Call Me Your Darling,'' an upbeat reflection on her reconciliation with Stonier.

Schoolgirl Songwriter

Gilmore stepped into a recording studio for the first time as a 16-year-old schoolgirl with an internship to study sound engineering. Though she had little musical training, she abandoned the mixing board and began writing songs.

``I figured out it was the musicians who had all the fun and the guy behind the desk wasn't really enjoying himself that much,'' she said.

Her first album, ``Burning Dorothy,'' was released in 1998 to critical praise. Five subsequent albums, all released on independent labels, won positive reviews from publications such as London's Sunday Times and Mojo magazine.

``Harpo's Ghost,'' her first release since 2003's ``Avalanche,'' takes its name from the silent member of the Marx Brothers, whose films Gilmore watched as a child.

``He was at his most expressive when he was sitting behind a harp playing music,'' Gilmore said. ``That's kind of how I feel about myself. I don't do the talking part too well, but I think I kind of make sense through music.''

'60s Folkies

Her music reflects the influence of artists such as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, discovered while listening to her parents' record collection. Gilmore's fans include horror novelist Neil Gaiman (``Coraline,'' ``American Gods''), who mentions her frequently on his Web site.

``She's got a great voice and the sharpest lyrics probably since (Elvis) Costello,'' Gaiman said in an interview. ``There's this strange and ferocious intelligence and total refusal to compromise which I think comes out in the songs.''

Gilmore said she was approached by major record labels about the time of ``Avalanche,'' which generated the U.K. top-50 hit singles ``Juliet'' and ``Mainstream.'' She remained independent to keep control of her music and image.

``If a big label came to me and said, `Look, Thea, you can make the album you want to make, you can look the way you want to look, we'll put out as many albums as you want,' I'd probably do it,'' she said. ``None of them have yet. They all seem to think they know better than me, and I'm arrogant. I don't think they do.''

Supportive Manager

She has benefited from an uncommon level of support from manager Sara Austin, who took out a 5,000-pound ($9,400) home- improvement loan to cover production costs on Gilmore's second album, ``The Lipstick Conspiracies,'' as they negotiated with labels.

``There were some other bank loans for bathrooms and new roofs and things that never really occurred,'' Austin said. ``If my bank manager ever showed up and looked at my ramshackle house, she'd wonder where all the money went.'' (She was later repaid in full from proceeds of the album.)

Gilmore's insistence on control may prevent her from ever signing with a major label, said Bob Lefsetz, author of the Lefsetz Letter, an industry newsletter. It may also give her career greater longevity.

``Your credibility will remain intact so you can work for a number of years,'' Lefsetz, who ran Sanctuary's U.S. unit in the 1980s, said in an interview. ``When you work for a major label you go up really fast and you can come back to earth really fast.''

Gilmore said she would be content with the longer career.

``My bank balance would be a lot better off if I had acquiesced and signed a big deal,'' she said. ``But I much prefer to be where I'm at.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 28, 2006 00:31 EDT