Man/Woman/Chainsaw are having that kind of year – the kind where every gig sells out, every critic suddenly claims they were there from day one (um, hello), and every new single feels like a statement. Now the London six-piece hit another milestone: signing to Fiction Records, home to the likes of The Cure and St. Vincent. A big-league move, but they arrive with a new single, ‘Only Girl’, that proves they’re more than ready for it.
‘Only Girl’ is their brightest, boldest, most joyously chaotic release so far. Born from a scrappy grunge jam and launched skyward by a ripping violin hook, it’s a noisy, giddy declaration of love delivered with Man/Woman/Chainsaw’s signature feral charm. Vocalist Vera Leppänen calls it their “playful love song” — though in true MW/C fashion, it’s a love song that stomps, sweats and owns the room.
Recorded at RAK Studios with Seth Evans and Margo Broom (the team behind their BBC 6 Music-playlist favourite ‘Adam & Steve’), ‘Only Girl’ feels huge without smoothing out any of the band’s edges.
And clearly the world agrees: two sold-out UK tours this year, a packed Scala, KEXP and Steve Lamacq sessions, and a SXSW debut so electric Rolling Stone dubbed them “a young band in the process of inventing something ecstatically new.” For once, the hype feels absolutely deserved.
With a free Omeara show landing in December, more headline dates coming in February, and a debut album due in 2026, Man/Woman/Chainsaw are charging into their next era at full speed.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw live:
Tue 02/12 – London, Omeara
Wed 14/01 – Groningen, Eurosonic Noorderslag
Fri 30/01 – Southampton, So Young Weekender, Suburbia
Sat 31/01 – Bedford, Ceremony 5.5, Esquires
Wed 18/02 – Hebden Bridge, The Trades Club
Thu 19/02 – Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire
Fri 20/02 – Liverpool, O2 Academy 2
Sat 21/02 – Dublin, Borderline Festival, Workman’s Club