Man/Woman/Chainsaw's 'Cannonball' Is a Direct Hit of Theatrical Chaos
The Sonic Breakdown
Cannonball is Man/Woman/Chainsaw’s debut full-length, and it plays like a band that refuses to pick a lane because they’ve found five better ones. Produced by Margo Broom (Fat White Family, Big Joanie) and Seth Evans (Geordie Greep, Black Midi), the record is built to hold contradictions: piano-and-string atmospheres sitting a track away from distorted, snarling post-punk.
The Production & Mix
The Dynamics: Broom and Evans clearly understood the assignment, which was to let the band’s extreme stylistic pivots feel purposeful instead of random. Quiet-loud shifts do real dramatic work here, especially on the tracks that pair theatrical piano with distorted guitar — the chaos “never feels frivolous,” and that’s a production choice as much as a songwriting one.
The Arrangement: Strings and piano aren’t decoration; they’re load-bearing. Opener “Only Girl” leans on that pop craftsmanship, giving the record’s harder edges somewhere to land later.
Standout Performance
The band’s real MVP is the ensemble itself — five members trading lead roles across eleven tracks without ever sounding like a democracy negotiated to death. “Snakebite” is the vocal high point, with expressive, melancholic imagery riding gorgeous singing that earns comparisons to peers like Mary in the Junkyard.
Track Highlights
⚡ “Goddamn, Lizard Man!” and “The Thing” — the post-punk aggression tracks, all nerve and forward motion.
🌈 “Something Else to Give” — the closer’s stirring vocal harmonies and immersive arrangement land like a jaw-dropping crescendo, the payoff for every left turn that came before it.
⚡ “Snakebite” — poetic phrasing wrapped around simple, impactful imagery; the record’s most vulnerable moment, and its most quietly devastating.
Cannonball never settles, and that restlessness is the whole point. Five musicians, one runaway train — hop on.