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In his review of Chris Cleverley‘s ‘Live from the Glass Isle’ (2021), Mike Davies highlighted how the album not only illuminated what a gifted songwriter Chris is but also how it was a glowing testament to his growing and emotionally nuanced power as a singer and the luminous nature of his guitar playing.
A year later, Chris released Broadcast The Secret Verse, an album that demonstrated his willingness to experiment as he made a bold stylistic departure from his previous work. We are promised further bold approaches with his new Winter EP, In the Shadow of John the Divine (named after the iconic Manhattan Cathedral), due for release on December 6th.
He’s often compared to Sufjan Stevens, whose seasonal songs have been a mainstay for many years across numerous indie-folk seasonal playlists, although Cleverley’s vibrant new body of work promises to flip the well-explored seasonal genre on its head, offering a fresh, innovative departure from your standard Christmas playlist:
“Christmas is a curious time; this odd blend of joy and wistfulness. Here we are each December, swimming through a pool of contradictions; gratitude, regret, warmth, loneliness, love, grief. We’re surrounded by a twinkling, celebratory charm, but it doesn’t always reflect our mindset at the close of the year, right?”
The album, which includes appearances from songwriters Kelly Oliver and Minnie Birch, will also tackle interesting themes as he confronts “the disparate 21st-century male identity. As worn-out tropes of masculinity continue to unravel, these songs explore a meaningful sense of self for the kind and curious, the saturnine and shy.”
The good news is that Chris is also on tour (see dates below) ahead of an album release that promises to defy our expectations of ‘Christmas music’ “…and to help you reconnect with this magical season as we greet it in all its complex but wondrous ambiguity.”
Please book your tickets early rather than leave this until later, as this is a great help to independent musicians.
While not from his new album, here’s a reminder of why he’s such a highly respected singer and song writer. Watch him performing Borderlands (from his 2022 album, Broadcast The Secret Verse). It was recorded at The Barrel House Ballroom, Totnes, in April 2024.
Chris Cleverley Headline Tour
Oct 19 – Medina Bookshop – Cowes, UK
Nov 2 – Stapleton House – Northallerton, Yorkshire
Nov 7 – Rosslyn Court – Margate, UK
Nov 9 – Ashburton Arts Centre – Ashburton, UK
Nov 23 – Green Note – London, UK
Nov 29 – Treehouse Bookshop – Kenilworth, UK
Nov 30 – The Stables – Milton Keynes, UK
Dec 1 – Hare & Hounds – Venue 2 – Kings Heath, UK
