Man/Woman/Chainsaw Hit a New Peak with ‘Only Girl’

Former Hype List favourites sign to Fiction Records and unveil their most immediate and exciting track so far.

It feels surreal watching Man/Woman/Chainsaw sign to Fiction. We picked them for our 2023 Hype List when they were still finding their feet on the London circuit, so seeing them join a label that counts The Cure among its alumni feels like a full circle moment.

Their first release for Fiction ‘Only Girl’ is a sharp step forward and easily their most immediate song yet. There’s a brighter hook, a cleaner glide to the melody and a pop streak that suits them more than we expected. Recorded at RAK Studios with Seth Evans and Margo Broom, it shows just how much the band have grown in the past couple of years.

Vera leads the track and describes it as “our playful love song”. Built around a violin line that lifts the whole thing off the ground, it started as a grungy guitar jam before turning into something far more joyful. That looseness is still in there, just sharper and more confident.

The single follows a sold out Scala show, two sold out UK tours this year, sessions for both KEXP and Steve Lamacq at BBC 6 Music and a standout run at SXSW. Rolling Stone called them “a young band in the process of inventing something ecstatically new,” which feels accurate. What still cuts through all the noise is the fact they began as a tight group of friends at sixteen who somehow managed to keep that scrappy energy intact while everything around them scaled up.

The band have also announced a free entry show at Omeara in December, plus new headline dates in February, alongside a Eurosonic appearance in January. Their debut album arrives in 2026, which already feels overdue.