Neil Haverty

Canadian vocalist, composer, and Bruce Peninsula frontman Neil Haverty unveils his new single, “Man Down” – a brooding, introspective meditation on illness, survival, and the slow, complicated return to self. Built on dark synths, stirring strings, and Haverty’s unmistakable ghostly growl, the track marks his first solo release after more than a decade composing for award-winning film and television.

On its face, “Man Down” is a reckoning with Haverty’s 2011 leukemia diagnosis, a life-altering moment that shook the foundation of his world. Written as a form of self-talk, the song explores grief, resilience, and the blurred lines between trauma and transformation. Rather than tying a neat bow around survival, Haverty leans into the clumsiness of healing, examining how ideals formed during hardship often fade in the forward tumble of everyday life.

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

Website: https://linktr.ee/neilhaverty