★★★★☆

London-based six-piece band Man/Woman/Chainsaw waste absolutely no time on their debut album ‘Cannonball’, instantly hooking in their listeners from the very first notes. 

Opening the record, and acting as the first single, is ‘Only Girl’. It jumps straight into a punchy indie-rock track, with its piano and violin elements showcasing the band’s musical uniqueness.

It is followed up by 'Canyons’, starting off simple, with vocals and a piano, letting the lyrics speak for themselves. As the song progresses, it slowly builds with drums and guitars until it moulds into a clear-cut rock song in the song’s final third. 

There’s no one lead singer in this band; instead, members Vera Leppänen, Billy Ward, and Emmie-Mae Avery share the lead vocals, making for an entirely unique listening experience. Going into each song, not only do you not know who is about to start singing, but you have absolutely no idea where it is going to go. The album draws from such a wide range of sounds, experimenting and pushing the limits of rock, indie, pop and even jazz. 

On one hand, it could be confusing and show that the band is yet to find their style, but on the other, it’s exciting and keeps the album constantly moving. It never feels stagnant or repetitive, and the band has such clear musical talent that their experimentation is always executed well. ‘Goddamn, Lizard Man!’ is no exception to this. With Ward taking the lead, this song has a grimy rock sound, a clear contrast to the opening two tracks, and yet it doesn’t feel out of place.

‘Lighter’ is the first of the album’s quieter moments, offering up a sweet love song. It describes the complete ease and comfort that the right partner can provide, against a backdrop of twinkling piano notes and a bright violin. Combined with Leppänen’s airy vocals, it feels akin to the slower tracks of Wolf Alice, such as ‘The Sofa’. 

Despite a long intro of over 50 seconds, ‘Nosedive’ is probably the most popular of the singles and of their discography in general. Maybe it was just a case of the right song at the right time, or maybe it was the undeniably slick melodies, groovy basslines and catchy chorus that catapulted this song into the ears of a wider audience. Either way, it is not to be missed.

‘Get Up and Dance’ comes in next with another extended intro which has an eerie atmosphere.  Avery takes the lead vocals on this one, her dreamy voice captivating the listener until the song descends into an immense orchestral moment. With its haunted, witchy undertone, it wouldn’t feel out of place on the last Florence and the Machine record, ‘Everybody Scream’.

The tension stays as ‘Snakebite’, the album’s shortest track, begins. This feeling quickly dissipates, however, as Leppänen comes in with some of the best vocal performances of the whole album. She is shortly joined by backing singing, with a call-and-response style creating a choir-like atmosphere that elevates the song.

Switching up the sound again, ‘Flick of the Wrist’ speeds up the pace and turns up the volume. As it progresses, it seems to get faster and faster, until Ward brings the song to an angry, climactic ending, repeating the words “I know what you did”.

Ward continues to take the lead on ‘The Thing’, a heavier song with pulsating drums and catchy guitar riffs that get the blood rushing. Aside from ‘Canyons’, the band seems to have Ward singing on these heavier songs, which begs the question of why? Is it just a personal preference of the singers? Is it about the songs’ contexts? Nonetheless, it is an energetic and bold track that will certainly go down well live when the band heads out on tour across the UK this autumn.

Fittingly, the next song is titled ‘Still Angry’, but, despite its title, is a much slower track. It begins very stripped back, later bringing in some slightly heavier drums on the chorus. For the most part, the emotion of this song is carried by the lyrics and vocals, particularly on the chorus: “I’m still fucking angry”. There are more strings on this track, but they serve a different purpose compared to the sweetness of ‘Lighter’. In this song, the anger is quiet, reserved, but vengeful, which is later magnified by the second chorus coming in louder and stronger.

As the album’s final song ‘Something Else to Give’ fuses together all of the unique elements of the band’s sound, Leppänen’s soft voice takes charge, with Ward coming in to provide subtle back-up vocals halfway through, as they sing over a steady beat and violins again. It closes out an impressive debut album that leaves the band with several different avenues to explore in their future releases.