Westside Cowboy: It Goes On
Out now
LP | CD | DL | Streaming
Impressive Manchester quartet Westside Cowboy have unveiled their debut album It Goes On. It’s a perfect, no-frills ride that gets back to the basics of guitar music. Keith Goldhanger saddles up for the journey.
Manchester-based Westside Cowboy have already provided us with a fabulous collection of EPs and singles over the past two years and this debut album will surely attract even more eager listeners that one can imagine may stay within earshot for a few more years. We’re reminded of the time when The Pixies released their debut a short time after teasing us with just one mini album and some impressive live appearances around the UK before becoming what many of us know them as today.
It Goes On does what it says in the title. This is a continuation of the band’s overall sound, blending simple, driving guitars, hyperactive drums (that are an impressive thing to witness live if you get the chance) and interlocking multiple vocal harmonies.
Having won Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition and opening the Woodsies Stage in 2025, as well as appearing on the Later… with Jools Holland TV show, Westside Cowboy have gone from strength to strength. Touring the UK, supporting acts including Black Country, New Road and Geese and headlining intimate grassroots venues, the band have been finding that many observers are returning. An upcoming late-2026 tour supporting this new album promises to elevate them further, signalling that this promising band may only just be getting started.
Opening track Kick Stones (The Boys) sets the scene for what follows. Reminding us of that era when The Wedding Present first arrived, blending in some early Sonic Youth and Pavement dynamics that are present throughout the album. All four members seem to be providing the vocals during these songs that sound better on every listen.
It Goes On sounds like a collection of music that sits comfortably alongside a lot of the music we’ve loved over the years without actually copying the same ideas. Eleven tracks averaging three minutes remind us of a lot of the US (slacker) bands that found their way to the UK in the early 1990s when their own country seemed too large to conquer. Instrumental breaks are at a minimum: the voices of guitarists Jimmy Bradbury and Reuben Haycocks drive most of these songs, while the vocals of bass player Aoife Anson O’Connell add to the overall listening experience. Her big moment comes at the end of Pin Up Boys as her voice closes the song with a refrain that will surely have audiences singing along with before long. Paper Chains seems to have one of the most disciplined manic sections halfway through that highlights the incredible drumming of Paddy Murphy.
During Well Done Kid You Did It, the chorus of “If you ever find out what happened to me, hold on to that thought” is a cry of self-encouragement, almost celebratory without any smugness. It’s a self-disciplined ride from start to finish, one that doesn’t get too carried away trying to emulate bands such as Arcade Fire with any over-the-top euphoric moments.
Although they easily stand comparison with the likes of Pavement, Sonic Youth, Replacements and even Teenage Fanclub, Westside Cowboy sit comfortably alongside the music of these bands whilst maintaining their own distinctive (and very British) sound. They make it all sound very easy, and it’s expected there may be even more to come as the years go by. As a debut album, this is a perfect, simple, no-frills affair that we need in 2026 to calm us down and remind us of what made us fall in love with guitar music in the first place.
Westside Cowboy’s European and UK tour dates for 2026 are:
OCTOBER
28 – Doornroosje, Nijmegen, Netherlands
29 – Paradiso THT, Amsterdam, Netherlands
30 – Helios37, Cologne, Germany
NOVEMBER
01 – Voxhall, Aarhus, Denmark
05 – Lille Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark
06 – Lido, Berlin, Germany
07 – Bike Jesus, Prague, Czechia
09 – Arci Bellezza, Milan, Italy
10 – Exil, Zurich, Switzerland
12 – Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
13 – Petit Bain, Paris, France
14 – L’Aéronef, Lille, France
24 – St Luke’s, Glasgow
25 – NUSU, Newcastle
26 – Crookes Social Club, Sheffield
27 – Irish Centre, Leeds
29 – XOYO, Birmingham
30 – The 1865, Southampton
01 – Chalk, Brighton
02 – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
04 – Electric Bristol, Bristol
05 – Albert Hall, Manchester
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