NEW TRACK: Adam Cleaver - 'Man Or Beast'

London singer-songwriter Adam Cleaver is due to release his EP Man Or Beast this month. The title track has recently been released as a single ahead of the EP, and is accompanied by a beautifully shot and masterfully edited new video.

Cleaver has been performing since 2012 and recently supported Norwegian songstress Sea Lion at The Islington, London. His natural singing ability and alternative-folk style are carefully combined on ‘Man Or Beast’ – a track which perfectly encapsulates personal unrest and self-conflict.

Like a gentler take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde’, Cleaver’s track channels anxiety and indecisiveness into something precious and cathartic. He clearly has an instinct for melody, and whether played acoustically or with a full band, the effect of ‘Man Or Beast’ remains the same: spine-tinglingly good

Whilst Cleaver never states whether it’s man or beast that’s ‘chasing’ him in the track, it’s clear the force which drives him onwards is focused, controlled and uncompromising. “You felt me tremble in the dark” muses Cleaver – and listeners will undergo a similar transformation after playing the songwriter’s new track.

With a voice that will leave your heart cleft in twain, Adam Cleaver’s ‘Man Or Beast’ will haunt your consciousness long after it has ceased to play. His laid-back, unpretentious style of song-writing will ultimately propel him in to the alternative-folk spotlight – quite rightly too.

Adam Cleaver’s new EP, Man Or Beast, is out 18 September via Veta Records.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut