WESTSIDE COWBOY Announce Debut Album
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Announce Debut Album It Goes on Releasing August 21ST Via Island Records
New Single ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ Out Now
Uk Headline Tour On Sale Now
Manchester quartet Westside Cowboy announce their debut album It Goes On for August 21st via Island Records. New single ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ is out now (video here), with a first play on BBC 6 Music and a video shot in collaboration with FC United of Manchester.
‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ is a propulsive, heady track that encapsulates the four-piece’s innate ability to hit you in the chest with their transcendent indie. Drummer Paddy Murphy notes that the true crux of the song is “as much about how we made it as the lyrics”.
“We loved the way it felt to play, but we thought we couldn’t record it like that or people would think we wanted to be a stadium rock band,” bassist/vocalist Aoife Anson O’Connell explains. Instead, they translated it through their own lens, using a live recording of The Velvet Underground’s ‘What Goes On’ as their primary reference point. “We always thought, if we can pull this off it could be really fun,” Paddy details. “Taking this mad, ‘70s rock thing but then having it played by a bunch of scrawny kids.”
This ongoing creative dialogue took place with the album’s producer Loren Humphrey (Geese, Cameron Winter, Wunderhorse) at Greenmount Studios in Leeds, and this thoughtfulness is apparent across the whole LP. Big feelings are at the heart of the matter: these are songs that aim to distill the confusion, desperation and blind hope of youth into eleven stirring tracks.
In the video for ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’, they collaborated with local football club FC United of Manchester: a splinter team that started when Manchester United were sold to an American corporation. “They’re very community minded and they have a similar atmosphere to what we want to be,” says guitarist/vocalist Reuben Haycocks. “Their ethos is ‘making friends not millionaires’.”
This is evidence of the way Westside Cowboy have always tried to focus on what unites people. Early on in the group’s life, they co-created No Band Is An Island: a Manchester-based collective putting on fundraising nights to spotlight both local artists and important issues via speakers from charities and direct action groups.
The quartet will be supporting the album release with their biggest headline tour to date this autumn/winter including shows at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town and Manchester’s Albert Hall (full dates below). Westside Cowboy will also appear at festivals including Green Man, Latitude, and Reading and Leeds this summer.
The announcement of their highly anticipated debut album marks the latest milestone in a career marked by forward momentum and undeniable magnetism, whilst staying true to themselves. Or as they say:
“Put simply, we wanted to make an album for our younger selves, one that reminds us of all the bodies of work that made us fall in love with music. We wanted the music to be instant, concise, and honest to us as people today. There will be plenty of time in the future for the sprawling triple album with horns and string sections but for now, it’s young music made by some young(ish) people. We want to make songs that are lean and imperfect. We’re really proud of it and we hope that you enjoy it.”
About Westside Cowboy
Described as “thrilling” by The Guardian, “reshaping UK indie” by DAZED, and “one of the UK’s most exciting forces” in an NME Cover feature, Westside Cowboy’s output so far showcases a band blessed with a telepathic synergy, and unafraid to take this coalescent magic outside their comfort zone.
The quartet recently captivated audiences with their unrelenting energy, melodies and wistful guitars whilst supporting Brooklyn icons Geese. This followed a fully sold-out headline UK run in January/February, debut US dates in late 2025, and a tour with Black Country, New Road last October.
The group’s electric live shows have slingshotted them towards 1000+ cap venues even before any mention of a debut album. This is establishing an immersive mythos, replete with ‘I was there’ credentials, and if-you-know-you-know moments. Last summer’s packed-out festival stages including at Glastonbury, Green Man and End of The Road are evidence of an outfit striking the core of the scene.
The band’s two EPs so far – So Much Country ‘Till We Get There (Jan ‘26 / Adventure Recordings) and This Better Be Something Great (August ‘25 / Heist or Hit), spawned singles which landed on BBC 6 Music’s playlist and saw support on BBC Radio 1 from Greg James, Sian Eleri, Alyx Holcombe, and more.
Westside Cowboy is Reuben Haycocks (guitar, vocals), James (Jimmy) Bradbury (guitar, vocals), Aoife Anson O’Connell (bass guitar, vocals), Paddy Murphy (drums, vocals).
It Goes On Tracklisting
1. Kick Stones (The Boys)
2. Paper Chains
3. Dobro
4. Well Done Kid, You Did It
5. Worried Age
6. Big Wheels
7. Pin Up Boys
8. Coyote
9. Patchwork
10. Take My Leaving As I Love You
11. You Could Have Died There On The Dancefloor
“Thrilling – marked by a mood of ramshackle invention at odds with the studied, polished air of current alt-rock” Alexis Petridis – The Guardian
“Westside Cowboy are reshaping UK indie” DAZED
“one of Britain’s most thrilling bands” Rolling Stone (UK)
“Come for the urgent, wistful guitars, and stay for the heart-wrenching harmonies” Stereogum
“Rapidly climbing the rungs and notching up the wins” DIY
“So Much Country… is an EP, but if it doesn’t set up Westside Cowboy for a very big 2026 I’ll eat my laptop” Loud & Quiet
Full UK Live Schedule
22.05 – Bearded Theory, Walton-on-Trent
24.05 – Neighbourhood, Warrington
21.06 – TRNSMT, Glasgow
09.07 – Ally Pally Park, London (with The Maccabees)
24.07 – Tramlines, Sheffield
25.07 – Latitude, Beccles
26.07 – Truck, Oxfordshire
21.08 – Green Man, Crickhowell
28.08 – Leeds Festival, Leeds
30.08 – Reading Festival, Reading
24.11 – St Luke’s, Glasgow
25.11 – NUSU, Newcastle
26.11 – Crookes Social Club, Sheffield
27.11 – Irish Centre, Leeds
29.11 – XOYO, Birmingham
30.11 – 1865, Southampton
01.12 – Chalk, Brighton
02.12 – O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
04.12 – Electric Bristol, Bristol
05.12 – Albert Hall, Manchester