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Eazy Peazy
Man/Woman/Chainsaw
“It’s easy to fall in love with me and these fantasies,” London’s Man/Woman/Chainsaw wail on their debut EP Eazy Peazy, but they’re living out the reality of their dreams, recently signing to reputable American label Fat Possum and becoming a buzz band throughout the world, with a similar genre-bending sound to other bands coming out of the UK scene right now. The center piece of the album, they have said, is the song “Ode to Clio” which marries their softer and harder tendencies, and is a tribute to Clio Harwood, the band’s raucous violin player, who solidified the song with her busy violin part.
They call their music “noisy, unadulterated art punk,” and their recording with Daniel Fox of Gilla Band, while explosive and soothing in turns, is quite reflective of their electric live show, which is almost always on the verge of falling apart, they throw themselves into their playing with such wild abandon. They’ve played up to 100 live shows in their local area and it was a treat to listen to the record and then watch it performed live, with the same track listing as the EP, on their “Live at George Tavern in London,” which can be found on Youtube.
They are being compared to UK’s Black Country, New Road, but they seem to me to be a sort of noir punk act, something like the Dresden Dolls, only a lot harder at times and with a lot more instruments added into the mix. The opener, “Boss,” goes hard and then there is a bit more of a post-punk feel to their second song, “Sports Day,” sung by their guitarist Billy Ward. The second half of the EP is decidedly more toned down than the first half, with more singer songwriter fair, showing their range, though it ends on the title track, “EZPZ,” as face melting as ever.
Together since they were 16 years old and now in their 20s, they are a young band, but have big aspirations and a new found confidence, signing to Fat Possum. It is clear that their live show is where they shine, but the EP (Eazy Peazy when abbreviated happens to spell out EP) captures the raw energy of their live show and has informed and fine-tuned some of their playing of the songs live. At times it is a full-on noise assault, impressive in its gutteral attack, at times it is as mellow as an alternative pop song, (“I won’t take you anymore, this tiny hole left where it was star shapes,”) but it always a display of their talent as a tight knit and super original unit. Check it out and put it on repeat. And definitely check out their live show, too.
Order Eazy Peazy by Man/Woman/Chainsaw HERE
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