Westside Cowboy

Manchester quartet Westside Cowboy release live-set favourite ‘Drunk Surfer’ (video here) today (on DSPs 5pm following its BBC 6 Music Huw Stephens premiere) as the final single from their debut EP ‘This Better Be Something Great’ - out this Friday (August 8th) via Nice Swan Recordings / Heist or Hit.It arrives with a stylish video (directed by Kris R) which calls back to iconic artists of the past. A quintessential Westside Cowboy track, it combines a restless urgency and pick-up-and-play riffs with cathartic emotional release - Reuben Haycocks’ lead vocals spiralling into – desperation. On the track, Haycocks explained: “‘Drunk Surfer’ in all honesty was about a time that I have since forgotten. This is not something that I regret however, as the song is now free to take on new meanings depending on the context of my life. I hope it can work like this for others also.”Produced by Lewis Whiting of 2024 Mercury Prize winners English Teacher, ‘This Better Be Something Great’ is a culmination of the band’s hectic first phase. Sprouting from unserious jams in their drummer Paddy Murphy’s bedroom, what initially began as an inside joke as a welcome distraction from mediocre employment and higher education for Westside Cowboy has quickly gotten out of hand - and their riveting, ramshackle indie has been winning fans across stages, wax, ink, and the airwaves since.The confluence of each member is central to Westside Cowboy’s infectious magic. Each player has their distinct style and personality - a call-back to classic 60s groups - yet together they’re elevated into a timeless flow state. All four members sing  and it’s via their harmonies, and competing lead melodies which battle before combining, that the true connection is witnessed, especially live.   It’s in this setting that the quartet are truly turning heads - numerous heroic sets at Glastonbury this year following their ascension as the Emerging Talent Contest winners prove this point, alongside a peerless summer festival run.Through the autumn they are supporting Blondshell on her UK tour, before hitting mainland Europe with Black Country, New Road following personal invites onto slots with English Teacher, Ezra Furmann and mary in the junkyard. Further evangelising by the likes of Black Country, New Road and Ezra Furman have augmented the ‘artist’s artist’ tag as well.‘Drunk Surfer’ completes the EP reveals, following ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’, and the BBC 6 Music-playlisted tracks ‘Shells’ and ‘Alright Alright Alright’. The band are certainly not short of admirers, with early praise from the likes of The Guardian, Stereogum, Uncut, NME, DIY, DORK, So Young, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash, Rolling Stone UK, Rough Trade and Paste. Whilst the four-piece have landed primary support from Huw Stephens, Steve Lamacq, Nick Grimshaw and Sian Eleri and Alyx Holcombe (BBC Radio 1), Jo Whiley (BBC Radio 2), Matt Wilkinson (Apple Music), KEXP and John Kennedy (Radio X).Westside Cowboy’s ‘Drunk Surfer’ is out now via Nice Swan Recordings / Heist or Hit and available on all digital platforms.Westside Cowboy is Reuben Haycocks (guitar, vocals), James (Jimmy) Bradbury (guitar, vocals), Aoife Anson O’Connell (bass guitar, vocals), Paddy Murphy (drums)