Here Comes The Flood: Westside Cowboy: It Goes On

photo: Clémentine Schneiderman

To find out what Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy are all about on their new album It Goes On, it is best to listen Paper Chains, a fuzzy garage rocker that apparently falls apart shortly before the finish line, before the band members pick themselves up again to finish the songs properly. Yes, that was intentional, because getting the listeners on the wrong foot is a game they keep playing, albeit not as blatant as this "gotcha" move.

They rose through the ranks really fast, with two well-received EPs (This Better Be Something Great and So Much Country 'Till We Get There), which landed them a record deal with a major. Thankfully the suits let them do whatever the fuck they wanted to write and record: quirky lo-fi songs that would have never survived a clean production. It is all a bit ramshackle in an endearing way, riding the coat tails of a band like English Teacher who also refused to be boxed in. If anything it will entice tonnes of hopefuls that plugging and just play will go a long way, provided they a shit on of musical ideas that will even convince people with a short attention to keep listening to the whole thing in one sitting.

Westside Cowboy:
Reuben Haycocks: guitar, vocals
James: Jimmy
Bradbury: guitar, vocals
Aoife Anson O’Connell: bass guitar, vocals
Paddy Murphy: drums, vocals