In Conversation with M. Woodroe
IN CONVERSATION WITH M. Woodroe Jana sits down with the lead singer of the Brighton four-piece to chat about their new EP [Support M. Woodroe on Bandcamp] Interview by Jana Cservenka 18 September 2026 After alt-rocking their way around Brighton’s most notorious venues for almost three years, the genre defying four-piece M.Woodroe have released The Treatment of Fractures, their debut EP. Comprising material that dates back to lead singer Marcie Garwell’s adolescence, the EP traverses themes of desire, rage, queerness and acquiescence. It strikes you with its wavering tempo; from the gritty and grungy ‘Carte Blanche‘ to the gently tragic and introspective piano ballad ‘Statue‘. Reminiscent of Wolf Alice and Bright Eyes’ early material, The Treatment of Fractures is raw and arousing. It challenges socio-political discourse with a breath of fresh air. Ahead of the release on Venn Records, I caught up with Marcie to better understand its meaning and we ventured into topics like the intersectionality of fear, cultural influences and support in the grassroots scene. Arune Daukantaite How are you feeling about releasing the EP next month? What does it mean for you? M: Well, I’m so glad because we recorded these songs so fucking long ago. We recorded them at the end of 2024. Ages ago; I’m so glad that we waited. But I’m happy to get this out and then start working on some new stuff. To start writing more. It’s our first proper release, but because it was recorded so long ago, it doesn’t feel that big anymore. Even though I know that it is, I know that it should be. I’m really excited. The Treatment of Fractures has this kind of darkness, a slightly Lynchian eeriness. Did you draw this inspiration from anywhere in particular? M: One of my biggest loves is, well, pretty nasty films. I really love [directors like] Michael Haneke. I think about those guys a lot when I’m writing songs like ‘Stalacites‘, it’s such an eerie song. I’ve got to mention David Lynch as well when I’m talking about those kind of weird and nasty films. I especially think about those guys because [their films are] kind of about perversion. I wrote about feeling like a pervert because of queerness, growing up with a queer identity. You feel like, well at least I did, I felt like a pervert because of it. I just like thinking about that, I love films that engage with that kind of stuff. It sounds really wanky, but it’s such an interesting way of thinking about desire and just human nature in this really unconventional way. Arune Daukantaite Are there any musicians that you feel have influenced you in the making of this EP? I think one of the main pieces of work that has inspired the EP is Letting Off the Happiness by Bright Eyes, which is a very raw and very sad album. When I was 15 or 16 I would listen to this album kind of religiously and it’s very difficult. I find it very difficult to listen to. I still do. Whenever I play it, my partner always asks me “are you okay?”. One of those ones. I think that’s such a big inspiration because it also just flip-flops. It gives you that whiplash, which I love. Who is The Treatment of Fractures for and what do you imagine it soundtracking? So I’ve been thinking about this recently; the speaker/singer/voice is the teenage angst part of me where all of my emotions are at their peak. I guess you kind of characterise it in your teenage years; all of your emotions are just so much. I think it’s for all of the teenagers that are still in everyone, I guess. The people who feel too angry, they feel too confused, they don’t know who they are, they feel too scared. They feel too cross at the world and can’t do anything but blame people, and obviously they should. I guess that’s who I imagine is singing the EP and it’s who I imagine is listening to it. I imagine someone listening to it whilst crying in the school toilets between classes or at lunchtime. I’m curious to know how you approached writing ‘Statue’? Why did you choose for it to be a gentle ballad when you could have channeled so much rage into it? Well, the song has changed a lot since I wrote it. I wrote it when I was 16. I originally wrote it on the guitar and I used to gig it a lot solo. There used to be a whole other verse in it that I cut out. I think it used to have a lot more rage in it and I still think it does have a little bit. It’s turned into a more introspective thing. I used to go really loud with that bit at the end for the “is it my fault” part. I really enjoy how much the band has given it that whiplash. I really enjoy that. I like fitting into all these different camps of music, different styles. I would say that there is still rage in it, but I think it’s a different kind. It’s the confusion as to why you’re feeling that way. You might feel angry and upset and scared and it all coalesces into this confused feeling. You ask why has it become this soft song? I think it’s just because I wrote it that way. It’s such an old song. When did the idea for the music video come to you? Was it during or after the songwriting process? The idea of the video came last year. It was just [the director] J and I talking about it and it took on a lot of different forms. We always wanted it to be about expression. Originally, I wanted the idea to be close-ups of people looking uncomfortable, like a tense shoulder or their hands or maybe part of their chest breathing. J and I talked