SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: WESTSIDE COWBOY ­­– SO MUCH COUNTRY ‘TILL WE GET THERE

WESTSIDE COWBOY
SO MUCH COUNTRY ‘TILL WE GET THERE
ISLAND RECORDS

Four-piece English indie band Westside Cowboy has been described as “college rock”, which couldn’t be a more accurate way of describing its sound or ethos. So Much Country ‘Till We Get There, is the group’s first major-label release. But does it live up to the hype?

The first track, “Strange Taxidermy,” is not the most auspicious opener. It sets a mournful tone with organs, banjos, and interestingly cryptic lyrics, but Anson-O’Connell’s indie-cursive vocals drag the song down and make it feel inauthentic to the gritty roots-inspired sound the band is emulating. The phrenetic beeps at the end give it an unsettling and curious tone, like a funeral dirge gone wrong, but overall, the warbling vocals just don’t serve this song.

The energy of the EP jumps considerably when the next track, “Can’t See,” starts up. It’s a solid power-pop offering with some nice guitar vibrato from Bradbury sprinkled all over the track like pixie dust.

“Don’t Throw Rocks” is the happy marriage of the band’s roots and power-pop influences. It has a resonating slide guitar and a percussive rhythm by drummer Murphy that drives the song along like a train on railroad tracks. Bradbury and Anson-O’Connell share lead vocals on this track, and they blend perfectly, making the result much more enjoyable than “Strange Taxidermy.”

“The Wahs” sounds like a lost B-side from ‘90s Britrock darlings Teenage Fanclub. By far the best song on the EP, this number isn’t afraid to let the individual elements of its musicality shine. This song has a frenetic alt-rock tempo until the song eventually flies off into the sunset at a breakneck pace. It ascends into delightfully cacophonic guitar squeals that make the song feel nihilistically euphoric, then ends abruptly, like the last memory you make on a bender before blacking out.

The EP ends with “In the Morning,” a downbeat track that feels like the previous song’s hangover.

Overall, this EP shows promise, but there seems to be something missing. The group cites Billy Bragg’s book Roots, Radicals, and Rockers as the kernel of its genesis; they were inspired by the DIY ethos of the early British skiffle scene, and the homespun charm is certainly felt. And although the band is politically aware, they don’t seem to see the music itself as a political statement. Says Anson-O’Connell, “In Cowboys, the lyrics themselves aren’t political. We’re not trying to make statements in the music itself.” Perhaps the songs would feel bolder and more authentic if the band leaned into the inherent radical nature of the sound that inspires them.

That said, the rough-around-the-edges nature of Westside Cowboy’s sound is a refreshing change in the current algorithmically saturated musical landscape.

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