Westside Cowboy - I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)

Manchester newcomers Westside Cowboy's debut single ‘I’ve Never Met Anyone I Thought I Could Really Love (Until I Met You)’, out now. 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, meaning that they now have to moderately apply themselves to it. Riding a thrilling lo-fi boxcar tuned to the melodic precision of Teenage Fanclub and held together with the slacker cool of Pavement, for most bands this would be enough, but not for Westside Cowboy.

Just when you think you have them pinned, they career the entire thing into a brick wall of country, trad and early harmony-coated, major-key rock’n’roll. They call this process ‘Britainicana’. A territorial statement. Rhythmic, rattling drums turn into a three-chord assault, with its crackling guitars soon igniting the combustible, chorus vocals of enigmatic co-vocalist Aoife Anson O’Connell. Speaking ahead of their first release and a raft of UK dates (incl. London and Manchester showcases), the band explained: “Sometimes love is tender . Other times it just sounds like a snare drum. This song for us was a liberation from serious music. A blunt love song. We just love guitars and hanging out. We started this as a joke when we were all a bit miserable but now we actually have to put some effort in. We just wanted to write a good song - this is the best we’ve got for now”.