Friday, 20 December 2024

Ones to Watch 2025 #10 Man / Woman / Chainsaw


 Man/ Woman/ Chainsaw is Billy Ward (vocals, guitars), Emmie-Mae Avery (vocals,keys/synths), Vera Leppänen (vocals, bass), Clio Harwood (violin) and Lola Cherry (drums). The final choice on this year’s Breaking More Waves Ones to Watch list they are arguably the least ‘new’ of the 10 acts on the list, having released their first song Any Given Sunday late in 2022. Two further songs followed in 2023 and it was one of these that first caught our attention – the ambitious What Lucy Found There. It wasn’t until November 2024 though that the band released their debut EP and established themselves as a true force to be reckoned with.

If you are a fan of early Black Country New Road, The Delgados and what is often known as the ‘Windmill Scene’ bands but think that Black Country New Road are becoming a little too twee recently then Man / Woman/  Chainsaw may well be your cup of musical tea. Taking indie guitars and both male and female vocals as a base, the band create a bigger widescreen sound through the addition of violin and piano that gives them a broader folk-orchestral scope than many of their indie rock contemporaries. Man / Woman / Chainsaw have moments in their songs where they sound genuinely pretty but it’s often then cut with aggressive punkish outbursts. It's this contrast and not knowing what is going to come next that is part of their appeal.

Man / Woman / Chainsaw still sound like a band that are growing and developing, but that development is fascinating; where their potential takes them only time will tell.

Man / Woman / Chainsaw - Ode To Clio

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