Live Review

Man/Woman/Chainsaw turn Sebright Arms into a sweltering vortex of sound for SON Estrella Galicia

If you’re lucky enough to squeeze into this one, congratulations – your sweat glands may never forgive you. SON Estrella Galicia’s latest basement blowout sees London’s finest purveyors of emotional carnage, Man/Woman/Chainsaw, cram their six-piece sonic storm into the Sebright Arms – and somehow make it feel intimate, explosive, and utterly essential all at once.

Words:Dan Harrison

Photos:Alex Amorós

Brighton’s AtticOmatic open the night with a haze of dream-pop, jazz noodling, and post-rock precision. Kamran Kaur’s vocals float above airy keys and restless guitar loops, shifting from ghostly to gut-punch in the space of a verse. Tracks from their debut EP 'Fold The World' drift through the room like fog, the band playing with silence as much as sound.

By the time Man/Woman/Chainsaw emerge – to the knowingly daft strut of 50 Cent’s ‘In Da Club’ – the room is a full-on sauna. That doesn’t stop them launching into ‘The Boss’, all sucker-punch guitars and searing call-and-response vocals. Vera Leppänen’s bass snarls, Billy Ward howls, and Emmie-Mae Avery’s synths buzz with menace. It’s controlled chaos, barely.

What makes this band sing, beyond the screaming, is the dynamic range. One moment it’s the aching lilt of ‘Adam & Steve’, the next it’s the full-throttle whip of ‘MadDog’, Vera’s voice cracking with frustration as Clio Starwood’s violin cuts through the noise like a scream in a thunderstorm. ‘Grow A Tongue In Time’ pulls it all back into something tender and ghostly, the kind of song that holds the room on a string.

They close with ‘Ode To Clio’, and it’s everything at once: strings, noise, melody, carnage, collapse. Lola Cherry’s drums splinter into the mix and for a moment the basement turns cosmic – and then it’s over. This Sebright Arms takeover strips SON Estrella Galicia down to its purest form: cold pints, tight rooms and bands that feel too big for the stage they’re on.

Man/Woman/Chainsaw turn Sebright Arms into a sweltering vortex of sound for SON Estrella Galicia

Slam Dunk's 20th anniversary celebrates the bands who built it

From Piss to Adult DVD: the sets we couldn’t stop talking about at The Great Escape

Shame turn Brighton beach into a sweat-soaked riot at Dork’s Great Escape takeover

Is folk music cool again? Little Grandad, Madra Salach and Westside Cowboy make the case at The Great Escape

Montreal meets London in a chaotic Monday night at The Grace

Haute & Freddy’s theatrical Bush Hall show feels like a cult classic in the making

Rosalía brings devotion, drama and full en pointe choreography to The O2 on the ‘LUX’ tour

Villanelle deliver a statement set for Dork’s Night Out at The 100 Club, London

Man/Woman/Chainsaw turn Sebright Arms into a sweltering vortex of sound for SON Estrella Galicia

More Live Reviews

Slam Dunk's 20th anniversary celebrates the bands who built it

From Piss to Adult DVD: the sets we couldn’t stop talking about at The Great Escape

Shame turn Brighton beach into a sweat-soaked riot at Dork’s Great Escape takeover

Is folk music cool again? Little Grandad, Madra Salach and Westside Cowboy make the case at The Great Escape

Montreal meets London in a chaotic Monday night at The Grace

Haute & Freddy’s theatrical Bush Hall show feels like a cult classic in the making

Rosalía brings devotion, drama and full en pointe choreography to The O2 on the ‘LUX’ tour

Villanelle deliver a statement set for Dork’s Night Out at The 100 Club, London