"morale got low at the firehall ~ lingering overtones ~ suddenly it hits ~ we don’t mean nothing ~"
The impending doom / clawing and scavenging sunlight of "Man Down" by Canadian vocalist / composer / and Bruce Peninsula frontman Neil Haverty, has the filmic sweep of an against all odds survivorship story and for good reason. The organic piano keys against Haverty's signature growly dulcet vocal countenance, the swells of ambient and gothic folk / indie rock orchestrations, the percussive breaks and clatter that is overtaken by grand and proggy bass lines, somber yet grand strings sounds, electronic arpeggios and an anchoring drum beat is at once, fucking beautiful and heartbreaking and seeded by Haverty’s life altering 2011 leukemia diagnosis. I can appreciate how this must feel being close to such a thing (but not directly) and I can relate to the cathartic glow of taking pain and uncertainty and flooding into your art whatever that art might be. Doing so is a point of healing and an exercise in punching back, a gesture of survivorship.
LINER NOTES (excerpted and bracketed):
[Recorded with longtime collaborator Leon Taheny (Owen Pallett, Austra) and featuring layered string arrangements by Mika Posen (Agnes Obel, Timber Timbre), “Man Down” combines analog synth textures, creaky orchestral moments, and organic found sounds – including field recordings from a Galileo museum in Florence – to build an atmosphere of both ascension and collapse. It’s music that searches for the spark of aliveness even as it grapples with mortality.]
“Man Down reminds me how close I came to death, and how sure I was that it would fundamentally change my life. But the truth is, most things stayed the same. The ideals I formed while sick – about living differently, more intentionally – they blur and come in and out of focus with time. This song wrestles with that realization: that survival doesn’t always mean transformation, and that clinging to our old patterns is as human as anything else." – Neil Haverty
The more I digest "Man Down" and after repeated listens I relate the words and emotional scope more and more. I also hear more nuances in both the sonic arrangements and Neil Haverty's vocal performance. I imagine a live performance in a forest's clearing like natures church itself and I suspect this wonderful track will invade my dreams too.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/darlingharbord/
https://www.facebook.com/neilhavertymusic
https://neilhaverty.bandcamp.com/
Known for his emotionally charged voice and expansive songwriting, Neil Haverty is no stranger to music that resonates on a soul-deep level. As the frontman of Bruce Peninsula, Haverty helped define a genre-bending, alt-gospel sound that captured listeners across Canada. Following his cancer diagnosis, Haverty shifted toward composing for film and TV, earning acclaim for his work on projects like Sleeping Giant, Wildhood, and Who Owns The World, which garnered his first nomination for Best Original Music at the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards.
After years spent supporting the work of other artists through initiatives like the Prism Prize and MVP Project, Haverty’s new solo material signals a personal renaissance. Blending indie, electronic, and vocal traditions, his songs channel introspection, survival, and the quiet thrill of rediscovery.
With “Man Down” and more new music on the horizon for 2025, Haverty reintroduces himself – not with grand pronouncements, but with stark, resonant songs that honour life’s uncertainties and contradictions. Longtime Bruce Peninsula fans will recognize the soulful intensity, but the world Haverty builds here is entirely his own.
Neil Haverty, singer songwriter / musician / Bruce Peninsula frontman, signature vocal growl, personal, grand, intimate, electronic orchestrations, "Man Down", 2011 Leukemia diagnosis, melancholy, survivorship, indie rock,
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