In an era where online streaming can make or break you, a teenage band who got gained fame by performing live, is quite a surprise; when that band plays over 100 gigs while self-releasing singles, you know they’re one to watch.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw are a 5-piece band from South London who have just released their debut EP, Eazy Peazy. Bandmates Billy Ward (vocals and guitar) and Vera Leppänen (vocals and bass) have been playing music together since 2019, and solidified their lineup with Clio Starwood (violin), Emmie-Mae Avery (piano), and Lola Cherry (drums) in 2023. They signed to indie label Fat Possum in July 2024, consequently releasing Eazy Peazy in November.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw’s musical approach relies on the energy of playing live; Ward said the band have “learned through our mistakes.” In their August 2024 Rolling Stone interview, Leppänen says, “We wrote the EP songs to play them live,” running counter to the industry’s current focus on going viral online, and expressing their characteristic punk spirit. The only word that could define their music is experimental, blending art-rock, punk, and more.
The EP is an ode to the beauty of experimentation. The opening track “The Boss” is fast and hard, immediately plunging you into a messy but intentional cacophony. Distorted electric guitar is layered over despondent vocals from Leppänen, with resounding blast beats in the background.
“Sports Day” starts with Ward’s vocals on just the right edge of spoken-word poetry, and the synth-heavy arrangement brings out the dread of the high school experiences. The third track, “Maegan,” quickly climbs to its feverish climax and then you dive into “Ode to Clio,” the single that took them a year to write. A patently gorgeous violin arrangement delves into synth and rock, blending classical with the new wave of music. The surrealist lyrics ramp up the experimentation of the song, and it showcases Man/Woman/Chainsaw at their best: “Thriving on the thin line between pretty and noisy,” as Ward describes it.
The penultimate track, “Grow a Tongue in Time,” is relatively bare, focusing on vocals about lost love and a lovely piano arrangement. It sets up closer “EZPZ,” which strikes that delicate balance between classical instrumental and punk music as it blends Starwood’s frenetic violin with Leppänen’s sonorous vocals, overlaying both over deep guitar.
Considering the high artistic standard of this debut, Man/Woman/Chainsaw are exploding with musical potential, and I can’t wait to see what they’ve got coming up in 2025.
