BAND 'CAPTIVATE' YORK AUDIENCE AT SOLD-OUT SHOW AT POPULAR CITY VENUE
REVIEW: Man/Woman/Chainsaw gig at The Crescent, York
HAVING postponed their original York date due to health reasons, London-based six-piece Man/Woman/Chainsaw were welcomed this evening to a sold-out rescheduled show at The Crescent following a solid support set from promising local five-piece Pennine Suite.
The band have previously acknowledged that, despite their relative youth, they have evolved in recent years. As context, singer and guitarist Billy Ward and lead singer Vera Leppänen have played music together since they were 14 years old and have navigated through various iterations of the band membership.
Their resulting and current lineup clearly works and has resulted in a recording deal with label Fat Possum, their signing coinciding with critics hailing Man/Woman/Chainsaw as one-to-watch with Rolling Stone magazine, NME and Radio 6 leading the praise.
The band’s 100-plus gigs together have resulted in a tightening of their live set. Tonight’s performance to this captivated York audience was exuberant and oozed innovation and creativity. I had not seen Man/Woman/Chainsaw before nor heard much of their music. However, tonight was a stunning introduction to their instrumental mayhem, relentless energy and quality songs and musicianship combined with a confidence and stage presence on a par with the likes of The Last Dinner Party and English Teacher.
They opened tonight’s set with The Boss, a gripping and chaotic wall of sound which captured the audience’s attention in an instant. Catchy single Adam and Steve, a song full of longing and about potential loss, saw the crowd swaying along with an isolated gentle mosh. God Damn Lizard Man appeared deliberately haphazard before it settled into a melody of quiet urgency. The brief and audacious Maegan followed as its brevity appeared to catch the audience off-guard.
New single MadDog, a song about lost friendship, reminded me of Belly, Tori Amos and Florence and The Machine. A brilliant performance of What Lucy Found There followed, a stirring song reminiscent of classic Kate Bush.
Man/Woman/Chainsaw at The Crescent. Photo by Gareth John
With Clio Harwood on violin and Emmie-Mae Avery on piano and vocals, Man/Woman/Chainsaw’s provided a chaotic yet carefully crafted offering tonight with a sound and style like fellow pioneers Black Country New Road, Black Midi and Flip Top Head. Transferring live energy and exuberance onto studio recordings can often be difficult. However, Man/Woman/Chainsaw have mastered this as evidenced by their debut EP Eazy Peazy. The penultimate song tonight was What Lucy Found, a sound which shifted from Bjork to Jim Steinman in sound. The band ended the evening with the captivating track Ode to Clio as its tempo changed from ballad to violin frenzy with complex layers and textures throughout.
Tonight, The Crescent was treated to this exceptional band with playfulness, energy and wry imagery setting them apart. Man/Woman/Chainsaw might not realise quite how good they are. Regardless, they are firmly on my one to watch list.
2025-05-17T04:57:44Z