Manchester’s newest guitar heroes deliver a studio triumph.
Since clinching top spot at Glastonbury’s emerging talent competition, Manchester four piece Westside Cowboy have rapidly built a reputation as one of the UKs most exhilarating new live bands. Fresh off the back a new recording contract with Island Records the anticipation surrounding their debut album It Goes On has reached fever pitch
Their self-proclaimed ‘Britainicana’ sound has drawn easy comparisons to 90s slacker-pop icons, but on their debut album It Goes On, the band dig into a rich, multi-generational palette of flavours.
What hits you first is the craftsmanship of the songwriting. These are unashamedly pop tunes built around instant, earworm hooks that linger in your mind long after you finish listening. Lyrically, they trade in clever, half-spoken British observational storytelling reminiscent of The Housemartins or Yard Act, packed with witty, everyday stories of real life.
Yet musically, the record effortlessly bridges eras. You can trace the lineage of vintage art pop eccentrics like Split Enz alongside the warm, angular guitar twang of Wilco, all filtered through a thoroughly modern 2026 sensibility.
Rather than sounding like a sterile studio creation for a quiet bus ride, the record places you right in the front row of one of their gigs.
Often exceptional live bands are neutered the second they enter a studio, stripped of their energy and left with a sanitised, bland echo of their stage presence. On It Goes On, producer Loren Humphrey avoids that trap entirely. The production keeps the instrument separation remarkably clean and distinct, allowing every layered guitar line and three-part vocal harmony to breathe. But crucially, Humphrey preserves the raw, room-filling energy of a Westside Cowboy gig.
Aoife Anson O’Connell (bass), Jimmy Bradbury (guitar), and Reuben Haycocks (guitar) trade lead vocals with conversational ease, while Paddy Murphy’s driving rhythm keeps momentum surging forward on standout tracks like Dobro and Kick Stones (The Boys). By the time emotional album closer You Could Have Died There On The Dancefloor arrives, Westside Cowboy have pulled off an unpretentious, down-to-earth debut that balances frantic live energy with pristine pop precision. It’s an exhilarating statement from a band operating at the absolute top of their game.
The Album is available from the 21st August 2026 from whereever you buy your music.
Westend Cowboy will be gigging and promoting the album in the UK across the rest of the year.
UK Headline Tour Dates (November – December 2026)
24 Nov: St Luke’s, Glasgow
25 Nov: Newcastle University SU, Newcastle
26 Nov: Crookes Social Club, Sheffield
27 Nov: Leeds Irish Centre, Leeds
29 Nov: XOYO, Birmingham
30 Nov: The 1865, Southampton
01 Dec: Chalk, Brighton
02 Dec: O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
04 Dec: Electric, Bristol
05 Dec: Albert Hall, Manchester (Sold Out)
Album Release Promotion Dates (August – September 2026)
19 Aug: Resident Music, Brighton
20 Aug: Rough Trade East, London (Matinee & Evening)
25 Aug: Jumbo Records, Leeds
27 Aug: Rough Trade, Liverpool (Matinee & Evening)
03 Sep: Rough Trade, Nottingham (Matinee & Evening)
04 Sep: Assai Records, Glasgow
Review: Graeme White