Man/Woman/Chainsaw’s Cannonball is a bold and inventive journey

Emerging from Brixton’s Windmill scene, the London group have been making a name for themselves the last few years for their inventive take on the art rock stylings of their peers. Across their debut EP, Eazy Peazy, and singles like “Adam & Steve” and “MadDog”, the six-piece flipped between pounding punk bangers and reflective baroque pop, touching on power pop, noise rock, and celtic music as well. Despite their tendency to fly all over the musical map, the group managed to keep their core sound consistent and identifiable. Still, the question of if they could keep that balance in place on a complete album remained. With their full-length debut, titled Cannonball, having arrived, that question has been answered. Across its 41 minutes, Cannonball is a definitive showcase of all of the sounds and styles that Man/Woman/Chainsaw have spent the better half of a decade tinkering with. Pulling from their past and their future, the band, alongside producers Seth Evans and Margo Broom, have consolidated the scattershot energy of their prior discography into a single package. Tracks like “Lighter” and “Still Angry” show off the group’s ability to write lush and emotionally driven ballad...