Manchester’s Westside Cowboy have spent the past two years quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, becoming one of the most talked‑about new bands in the UK. The Guardian called them “thrilling”, DAZED declared they’re “reshaping UK indie”, and Rolling Stone UK went even further, naming them “one of Britain’s most thrilling bands”. Now, the quartet finally step into the spotlight with the announcement of their debut album It Goes On, arriving 21 August via Island Records.
ALBUM PRE-ORDER HERE
Alongside the announcement comes their new single ‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’, a track that captures everything that makes Westside Cowboy such a magnetic force: urgency, vulnerability, and that unmistakable sense of four musicians locked into something bigger than themselves.
‘Kick Stones (The Boys)’ is Westside Cowboy at their most propulsive, a chest‑thumping, heart‑racing slice of transcendent indie that feels both nostalgic and forward‑facing. Drummer Paddy Murphy says the song’s core is “as much about how we made it as the lyrics,” and that ethos is written all over the track.
Bassist/vocalist Aoife Anson O’Connell explains that the band initially worried the song’s sheer power might be misread:
“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.”
Instead, they filtered it through their own lens, using a live recording of The Velvet Underground’s What Goes On as a guiding light. The result is a track that feels like a runaway train driven by four “scrawny kids” (Paddy’s words) who know exactly what they’re doing.
The single arrives with a video shot in collaboration with FC United of Manchester, the community‑driven club formed in protest when Manchester United was sold to an American corporation. Guitarist/vocalist Reuben Haycocks says the partnership made perfect sense:
“Their ethos is ‘making friends not millionaires’. That’s the atmosphere we want to be.”
Recorded with producer Loren Humphrey (Geese, Cameron Winter, Wunderhorse) at Greenmount Studios in Leeds, It Goes On is an album about youth in all its messy, hopeful, desperate, ecstatic glory. Eleven tracks that try to bottle the confusion and blind optimism of being young and trying to make sense of the world.
The band describe it simply:
“We wanted to make an album for our younger selves… instant, concise, honest. Young music made by young(ish) people.”
There’s no pretence here, no over‑polish — just lean, imperfect songs that feel lived‑in and alive.
Westside Cowboy’s rise has always been tied to the community around them. Early in their journey, they co‑created No Band Is An Island, a Manchester collective hosting fundraising nights that spotlight local artists alongside speakers from charities and direct action groups. It’s the same spirit that runs through their work with FC United — a belief that music is at its best when it brings people together.
That ethos has fuelled their live reputation too. Their shows with Geese, their sold‑out UK headline run earlier this year, their debut US dates, and their tour with Black Country, New Road have all fed into a mythos that’s growing fast. Last summer’s packed‑out sets at Glastonbury, Green Man and End of the Road only cemented it.
DIY summed it up best:
“Rapidly climbing the rungs and notching up the wins.”
To celebrate the release of It Goes On, Westside Cowboy head out on their biggest headline tour to date this autumn/winter, including major stops at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town and Manchester’s Albert Hall. They’ll also hit Green Man, Latitude, and Reading & Leeds this summer — a run that feels perfectly timed for a band on the brink of something huge.
Loud & Quiet weren’t exaggerating when they said:
“If this doesn’t set up Westside Cowboy for a very big 2026 I’ll eat my laptop.”
Tracklisting — It Goes On
Kick Stones (The Boys)
Paper Chains
Dobro
Well Done Kid, You Did It
Worried Age
Big Wheels
Pin Up Boys
Coyote
Patchwork
Take My Leaving As I Love You
You Could Have Died There On The Dancefloor
ALBUM PRE-ORDER HERE
Westside Cowboy have always felt like a band in motion, not rushing, not chasing trends, just moving with purpose. It Goes On feels like the moment where all that momentum crystallises. A debut that’s not trying to be definitive, but instead trying to be true.
Stereogum captured it perfectly:
“Come for the urgent, wistful guitars, and stay for the heart‑wrenching harmonies.”
This is a band who know exactly who they are, and exactly where they’re going.
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
Westside Cowboy Online
‘It Goes On’ Artwork