Connor McGlave’s ‘Better Man’ is gritty, honest, and exactly what we need right now.
There’s something quietly devastating about the way Connor McGlave writes songs. With just a handful of releases to his name, the East Kilbride singer-songwriter has already carved out a space that feels raw, human, and completely his own. On Better Man, his first single of 2025, that space only deepens.
This isn’t just another introspective indie track. Better Man is a soul-bearing confessional, laced with the kind of self-awareness that doesn’t come easy. McGlave grapples with his own patterns—“old habits,” as he calls them—without ever slipping into self-pity. Instead, the song becomes a quiet promise to do better, a message as much to himself as it is to anyone listening.
Built around soaring melodies and stripped-back production, there’s a real weight to every lyric. It’s the kind of track that hits harder the second time around, as the vulnerability behind each word begins to settle in. Whether you’ve been there or you’re still working it out, Better Man makes you feel like someone else gets it.
What makes Connor so compelling is that none of this feels curated. He writes the way people think when they’re alone. That honesty—unfiltered, imperfect, and emotionally direct—has already earned him comparisons to the likes of Sam Fender and Gerry Cinnamon, but there’s something uniquely personal in his delivery. His lyrics don’t just reflect pain or growth; they embody it.
For an artist who started by casually posting clips online, it’s wild to see how far Connor’s come. Viral moments aside, it’s the substance behind the songs that’s carried him. From the gut-punch realism of “Cocaine Epidemic” to the nostalgia of “Jumpers For Goalposts,” every track feels like a new chapter in a story he’s still figuring out in real time.