On a tightly woven EP full of fist clenching hooks, Westside Cowboy set themselves apart as one of the big rising bands in rock music.
You’d think given my love for alternative country and my recent review of Windmill Scene band The Orchestra (For Now), I’d be ahead of the curve on Westside Cowboy, but given they’re from Manchester and only halfway adjacent to the scene, I think it’s understandable. Nonetheless, it’s a mistake that needs correcting, because So Much Country ‘Till We Get There is a tightly woven EP that cements this band as undeniable rising talents with a strength for fist-clenching anthems.
You might not think it’s the case judging by the opener ‘Strange Taxidermy’ alone with its slow burn crescendo that dissipates into a flickering trickle of synthesisers by the end. The song feels simultaneously stately and as if it’s only just holding itself together, until a closing swell of cello adds some much-needed weight to the track. This EP is full of weird eclectic moments in that vein like the wailing guitar solo on ‘Don’t Throw Rocks’ and the rattling congas that turn up on the standout ‘Can’t See’ with its many irresistible little hooks and propulsive groove. It might not be as abrasive as some Windmill Scene fans might hope, but the band’s explosive earnestness makes up for a lot.
And for that, you need to look at the lyrics and themes that mostly dance around reckoning with time’s passage; whether it’s the memories that stay permanent amidst it all on ‘Strange Taxidermy’, the cities that feel like they’re eating us alive on the subdued closer ‘In The Morning’, or the frustration that you can’t really change people’s views – only time can do that – on ‘Don’t Throw Rocks’. Thankfully, there are some broader, more positive moments to counterbalance all of this, mostly songs about charging forth to one’s goal like ‘Can’t See’, and the band’s attempts to stay positive and keep trudging forward even in trying times on ‘The Wahs’ are also very welcome. Westside Cowboy are a band that know the path ahead isn’t easy but are willing to take the plunge anyway, and it makes for a collection of richly compelling songs.
If anything, that’s the biggest strength of this EP. There’s a determined tenacity to the songs here, and the band’s embrace of the infectious over the drudging banality gives me a great feeling about that upcoming debut album. I might be months late, but to quote ‘Can’t See’: “you say it’s better late than never.” They’re already making waves; if this EP is anything to go by, those waves are only getting bigger.
