Westside Cowboy: shows in Glasgow, Manchester & London

photo: Clémentine Schneiderman

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy are riding high on the rave reviews of their It Goes On album. Their current club tour is sold out (well, almost), so they take a gamble with playing bigger venues in Glasgow, Manchester & London in March next year. "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 do and record: quirky lo-fi songs that would have never survived a clean production. It is all a bit ramshackle in an endearing way."

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 do 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: Dobro

photo: Clémentine Schneiderman

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy take it easy on their new single Dobro, settling for a rollicking backbeat with a few Velvet Underground-inspired guitar licks on top. This is the kind of song that could accompany a leisurely stroll by the band members on a Friday night, looking for a bit of action and maybe even an adventure. A bit of well-executed posturing can mask insecurity pretty well.

Westside Cowboy: Pin Up Boys

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy have been playing Pin Up Boys at pretty much every show for year-and-a-half, but never got around to recording it properly in the studio. They tried and tried, but it never really gelled. A semi live take should have salvaged it, but even that take on the classic loud-quiet-loud approach stumbled and fell flat on its back. That is a pity, but rest assured: they will get it right on stage.

Westside Cowboy: Kick Stones (The Boys)

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy picked a solid base for their new single Kick Stones (The Boys): a live recording of The Velvet Underground's What Goes On. With that unrelenting riff secured, they went on to write a song inspired by FC United of Manchester, founded shortly after Manchester United was taken over by American billionaire and all-round asshole Malcolm Glazer.

The band loves the lads doing their best to bring football back to people who can't afford a ticket for a Premier League match. Seventh tier fames are not about epic skills, but embracing mistakes as part of the game, a sentiment that is echoed by the warts-and-all lo-fi approach of the track.

Westside Cowboy: tour dates

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy have a busy tour schedule laying ahead of them, now that a combination of rave reviews and word-of-mouth got them out of the underground and into the limelight. Are they country, are they pop, are they rock? Yes, they are, and they are pretty good on stage as well.

Westside Cowboy: So Much Country 'Till We Get There

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy fight off pigeonholing by bookending their new So Much Country 'Till We Get There EP with two folk songs, plus one of them - opener Strange Taxidermy - is about a thing is slightly troubling. Was a loved one stuffed and preserved maybe? In The Morning is about being on the run for something, so that could be the second chapter of a gruesome tale.

In between it is business as usual with three guitar driven, off-kilter upbeat songs with the odd bit of feedback in Don't Throw Rocks thrown in. They are definitely a band to watch as they like to cast their nets wide, fishing for things that they haven't tried before.

Westside Cowboy: Can't See

photo: Charlie Barclay Harris

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy have released Can't See, a short and sweet guitar driven song, with a descending motif that's a 101 for creating an earworm that won't drive the listener mad after being exposed to a it for a couple of times in a row. There is a conga in the breakdown, which was unexpected, but turned to be a very welcome addition.

Westside Cowboy: Don't Throw Rocks

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy have released Don't Throw Rocks, a slow burner single that starts out as a mellow pop song gradually turning into a noisy guitar exercise, before coming full circle again with a soft-spoken coda. It only goes to show that a one-man lo-fi drum machine driven demo can be made into an exhilarating full-band track.

Westside Cowboy: "Drunk Surfer" video

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy made a video for Drunk Surfer, a track from their debut EP This Better Be Something Great: "Anguish and bravado are playing catch, with no clear winner, just like in real life".

Live dates:

• 08/16 Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons
• 08/28 End Of The Road Festival, Dorset, UK
• 08/30 Manchester Psych Fest, Manchester, UK
• 09/02 Button Factory, Dublin, UK*
• 09/04 New Century Hall, Manchester, UK*
• 09/06 Oran Mor, Glasgow, UK*
• 09/07 Project House, Leeds, UK*
• 09/08 SWX, Bristol, UK*
• 09/10 CHALK Live, Brighton, UK*
• 09/11 Electric Brixton, London, UK*
• 09/12 Electric Brixton, London, UK*
• 09/27 Float Along Festival, Sheffield, UK
• 10/09 Casino de Paris, Paris, France#
• 10/10 Stereolux, Nantes, France#
• 10/12 Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands#
• 10/13 Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands#
• 10/14 Gloria, Cologne, Germany#
• 10/15 Astra Kulturhaus, Berlin, Germany#
• 10/17 VEGA, Copenhagen, Denmark#
• 10/18 Fållan, Stockholm, Sweden#
• 10/19 Sentrum Scene, Oslo, Norway#
• 10/21 Mojo Club, Hamburg, Germany#
• 10/22 Roxy, Prague, Czech Republic#
• 10/23 Les Docks, Lausanne, Switzerland#
• 10/25 Magazzini Generali, Milan#
• 10/26 Epicerie Moderne, Lyon, France#
• 10/28 Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium#

* w/ Blondshell)
# w/ Black Country, New Road

» westsidecowboy.com

HCTF review of This Better Be Something Great

Westside Cowboy: This Better Be Something Great

photo: Joe Moss

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy are brimming with energy on their debut EP This Better Be Something Great. They are loud, but are also capable to turn it down a notch within the space of a track (Drunk Surfer). The superb slow song Shells is a serious contender for this year's best song about feeling awkward. They threw in a line from the Johnny Cash classic Folsom Prison Blues into Alright Alright Alright - the bum notes are intentional (or they just did not care fixing them).

I've Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (until I met you) sums up their mixed emotions quite nicely: pretending not to care, but also clamouring for a meaningful connection. Anguish and bravado are playing catch, with no clear winner, just like in real life.

Westside Cowboy: "I've Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love" live @ Glastonbury

Watch Westside Cowboy perform I've Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (until I met you) on the Woodsies Stage @ Glastonbury: "a midtempo rocker celebrating ennui and not giving a fuck on the one hand, but behind all the posturing it is also a plea to be seen by the other party and get a nice thing going."

Westside Cowboy: Alright Alright Alright

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy plays damn fast on their new single Alright Alright Alright. Did they just throw in a line from the Johnny Cash classic Folsom Prison Blues? They sure did. The bum notes are intentional (or they just did not care fixing them). Optimism against all odds is the premise of these two minutes of ramshackle goodness.

Westside Cowboy: I've Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (until I met you)

photo: Joe Moss

Mancunian indie quartet Westside Cowboy are sounding a bit two-faced on their new single I've Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (until I met you), a midtempo rocker celebrating ennui and not giving a fuck on the one hand, but behind all the posturing it is also a plea to be seen by the other party and get a nice thing going.

In a nutshell: it sucks to be alone, but don't let the world know about it, because that would be uncool. Endearing, right? Buy them a pint and ensure them that things will get better. For starters: they are in a good band.