Man/Woman/Chainsaw

In London, Man/Woman/Chainsaw coalesced around Billy Ward and Vera Leppänen, who launched the project in their teens and later expanded it into a sextet. The band has carved out a place on the British indie scene with a sound that blends alternative rock, post-punk, noise and art rock, playing on sharp contrasts between rhythmic tension, abrasive guitars and more melodic passages. Man/Woman/Chainsaw emerged in the early 2020s on London’s and the wider UK live circuits, where its collective format and shifting songwriting quickly became central to its performances. Across their early tracks the group refined a nervous yet mobile aesthetic that avoids the fixed tropes of revivalist rock in favor of fluid structures and an often jarring energy. Signing to Fiction Records marked a significant milestone, followed by the release of the single “Only Girl.” The band was also booked for SXSW, extending a trajectory already well rooted in live shows, new material and circulation within the network of London bands of their generation.