{"id":2091265,"date":"2026-08-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2091265"},"modified":"2026-08-13T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T21:00:00","slug":"wonderland-337","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2091265","title":{"rendered":"Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tWonderland<\/span>
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\n\t\t\tMAN\/WOMAN\/CHAINSAW CANNONBALL INTO THE UNKNOWN<\/span>
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One of Britain\u2019s most hyped rock bands of the moment, the South London sextet make a splash into controlled, melodic chaos on debut album Cannonball<\/em>. The Brixton Windmill grads chat internet criticism, the chokehold of an old vicarage, and embracing the unfamiliar.<\/h3>\n
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\"Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Just about surviving London\u2019s second heatwave, Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw are scattered across the capital for World Cup summer. As luck would have it, I\u2019ve managed to secure time with five of the six Fiction-signed bandmates, avoiding clashes with respective day job shifts, haircut appointments, and England vs Ghana. It\u2019s amusing to discover that, despite a reputation for relentless, hard touring, our Zoom call has converged into a catch-up spot of sorts. Vocalist and bassist Vera Lepp\u00e4nen is the first to join; my congratulations on becoming labelmates with The Cure fuels a back-and-forth between Olivia Rodrigo and Daisy Chain Fields \u2013 her freshly announced all-women festival. \u201cI rate that, I think she\u2019s so cool,\u201d praises Lepp\u00e4nen.<\/p>\n

I recount last year\u2019s June gig at the Sebright Arms<\/a> that saw one of Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw\u2019s earliest outings as a fully formed sensation, before the news of their November signing. Immediately, \u201cThat was the first time we played \u2018Only Girl\u2019<\/a> live\u201d, recalls Lepp\u00e4nen. \u201cWe had literally written it a few days before, and you could tell that we were really tired during that gig. We played everything really slowly.\u201d Accidental fatigue, by chance, represents a calming of the sonic storm. Bonded by high-school jam sessions homing in on the art of noise, the group made a name for themselves at the Windmill in Brixton, a Black Midi-spawned scene of English experimental rock virtuosos. Their 2024 \u201cEazy Peazy<\/a>\u201d EP and subsequent \u201cAdam & Steve\u201d \/ \u201cMadDog\u201d<\/a> droplets offered tasters in contemporary punk experiments of the loud and grandiose kind. Unconventional structures and cutting guitar work meet delicate string textures.<\/p>\n

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Escaping London for week-long writing retreats at a friend\u2019s house in Deal \u2013 a coastal town in Kent \u2013 is something of a tradition for Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw. It\u2019s where \u201cOnly Girl\u201d was born. \u201cWe set up all our kit there. Then we\u2019ll go for a swim, or if it\u2019s really cold, just look at the sea, get fish and chips\u2026 it\u2019s really nice.\u201d Arriving first, with the most irresistible of riffs, their newly released debut album Cannonball<\/em><\/a>\u2019s leading love song perfectly captures a new balance in heartfelt restlessness. It\u2019s a direction that some media outlets have labelled as pop-leaning, although Lepp\u00e4nen doesn\u2019t necessarily agree: \u201cPeople keep saying this to us, \u2018You wrote a pop record.\u2019\u201d Shrugging off the suggestion, \u201cI think it\u2019s gonna happen naturally with our style,\u201d drummer Lola Cherry adds. \u201cWe\u2019ve not really intentionally done one thing; I think we just enjoy writing songs with melodies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s willingness to embrace melody and formula has inevitably attracted criticism from genre gatekeepers on the internet who shun the abandonment of unpredictability. \u201cI don\u2019t think we ever went out of our way to be genre-bending,\u201d Lepp\u00e4nen says. \u201cWe never intentionally didn\u2019t write pop music, and I don\u2019t think we\u2019re now intentionally writing pop music. We\u2019ve just been writing music and making whatever.\u201d Comments accusing the band of \u201cselling out\u201d do not bother Cherry: \u201cMy whole take is, honestly, I don\u2019t care.\u201d An equally pragmatic view, \u201cSomebody saying we\u2019re making boring music\u2026 you don\u2019t have to listen to it,\u201d Lepp\u00e4nen retorts. \u201cAlso, keep commenting; that gives us more engagement.\u201d \u201cIt is funny,\u201d Cherry says, \u201cI do like a hate comment. If someone sees one, they\u2019ll send it in the group chat.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Cannonball<\/em>, Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw continue to push for self-professed maximalism. Tracks like \u201cCanyons\u201d and \u201cThe Thing\u201d confirm there are still moments of abrasive clamour in coexisting instruments. But with assurance comes expansion, not just in songs like \u201cStill Angry\u201d; in the emotional ballads and bittersweet follies of an intimate body of work with catchy lyrics. Cannonball <\/em>is symbolic of a period in which six musicians are becoming increasingly thoughtful about how they arrange music together. \u201cOur producer, Margo [Broom], was always like\u2026 \u2018what\u2019s the narrative of the song?\u2019\u201d Leppanen explains. \u201cWhat\u2019s the ear meant to listen to? Is it the violin, is it the guitar, the vocal? I think we\u2019ve gotten a bit better at balancing that, instead of just all guns blazing all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

That balance hasn\u2019t always been easy; there are lots of ideas wanting contribution, after all. \u201cIt\u2019s like putting pride aside,\u201d Cherry says, \u201cand maybe accepting that you might have to do nothing for a song on stage as well, because there\u2019s six of us; it makes a lot of noise. It can\u2019t just be a wall of sound all the time.\u201d Rather than competing for attention on runtimes, every instrument now serves the song.<\/p>\n

This strategy has also aided Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw\u2019s writing, which feels \u201ca bit more natural\u201d now compared to some of the years-old tracks that made the final Cannonball <\/em>cut. \u201cWe had a pretty strict deadline,\u201d Leppanen reflects. \u201cIt just made me really appreciate everyone\u2019s strengths.\u201d The band have spent years being described as the next best thing, yet their debut does not concern itself with reputation, instead documenting the development of their own skills through mutual reliance.<\/p>\n

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\"Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw<\/figure>\n
\"Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Assertive cut \u201cGet Up and Dance\u201d sees synthesist Emmie-Mae Avery step up on lead vocals. Coming from a classical background, her \u201cidentity as a musician and a person has changed so much through being in this band,\u201d violinist Clio Starwood says. Making the switch from bass to guitar as the last to join Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw, Billy Doyle has got over his imposter syndrome: \u201cI made this one guitar loop at the end of \u2018Something Else to Give\u2019, it\u2019s a locked groove on the vinyl.\u201d \u201cAll of us in the studio recorded a gang vocal; it\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve done it,\u201d Avery shares. \u201cIt fills some of the songs out in a really cool way that we\u2019ve not done before, kind of like a choir.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the crux of Cannonball <\/em>is an old North London vicarage converted into a creative space for musicians and artists alike, even making room for a pottery studio downstairs. It served its crucial purpose as a place for the band to write and rehearse in as teens. Ironically, singer-guitarist Billy Ward \u2013 the only absentee \u2013 happens to be the portal to such a stomping ground, as it\u2019s the exact location where his parents met. \u201cWe also had a neighbour who didn\u2019t like us,\u201d Lepp\u00e4nen laughs. \u201cShe kept calling our music \u2018a racket\u2019, and I was like, \u2018That\u2019s subjective, this is music.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the complaints, the vicarage is intrinsic to Cannonball<\/em>\u2018s identity. \u201cWe didn\u2019t really want to necessarily do it in the vicarage,\u201d Cherry says of the album cover. \u201cBut it was a free space that we had access to, and now that we\u2019re not there anymore, it\u2019s a nice way to remember being there.\u201d The busy artwork depicts a fake bedroom setup, carefully assembled with personal knick-knacks as easter eggs referencing a different song on the record. \u201cWe were like, \u2018Let\u2019s just have someone cannonballing in the room,\u2019\u201d Cherry remembers. \u201cWe did break straight through the bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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That someone was Cherry herself, personifying the album title ripped straight from a standout lyric in the single \u201cNosedive\u201d<\/a>. As Avery puts it, \u201ccannonballing into the music industry.\u201d \u201cSplash!\u201d Starwood interrupts. \u201cBang!\u201d Through the metaphor of a broken bird wing, \u201cNosedive\u201d stresses longing for comfort and freedom in a relationship. For its visual, a tonal shift into the danceable and upbeat is brilliantly depicted with a closing celebration \u2013 the strobe setting is none other than the vicarage bedroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was kind of a miracle how it came together,\u201d Avery says. During one of their seaside retreats, the band split into two groups, neither trio realising they were accidentally writing different halves of the same song. \u201cWe played \u2018Nosedive\u2019 for the first time in front of people like five days before it came out,\u201d Doyle says. \u201cSo we had no clue if people were going to like it or not.\u201d Starwood smiles, \u201cThey did. That song was a really nice surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

For every fan and every detractor, Cannonball <\/em>arrives after much anticipation at the good place. Their younger selves might never have imagined it, perhaps neither their current versions, with eyes already set much further afield for \u201cJapan\u201d, \u201cSouth America\u201d, \u201cHelsinki\u201d. \u201cWe haven\u2019t really set a specific goal,\u201d Cherry says. \u201cWe just want to keep making music, if it\u2019s feasible to keep doing it and keep enjoying it.\u201d It\u2019s an achievement that a statement as big as Cannonball <\/em>has not jaded Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw, the indie rock success story. Conversing with the band does not indicate they are chasing expectations. Strip away the promo sheen, and they are six lifelong friends coming into themselves, trusting the process, and one another. \u201cYounger me might think, \u2018What the hell, you sold out, man,\u2019\u201d Doyle remarks. \u201cBut me now\u2026 I think it\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen the album\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

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Buy the album
<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Words<\/strong> \u2013 Douglas Jardim<\/p>\n

Photography<\/strong> \u2013 Charlie & Charlie<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t13 August 2026\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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Feature Interview<\/a><\/div>\n
Music<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tRose Gray\u2019s Love Letter to Rio<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\tWonderland Loves<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonderland MAN\/WOMAN\/CHAINSAW CANNONBALL INTO THE UNKNOWN One of Britain\u2019s most hyped rock bands of the moment, the South London sextet make a splash into controlled, melodic chaos on debut album Cannonball. The Brixton Windmill grads chat internet criticism, the chokehold of an old vicarage, and embracing the unfamiliar. Just about surviving London\u2019s second heatwave, Man\/Woman\/Chainsaw […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,257],"class_list":["post-2091265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-wonderlandmagazine-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2091265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091265\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2091265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2091265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2091265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}