So Much Country ‘Till We Get There

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If Westside Cowboy’s name and origin story—the band started out by playing Hank Williams and Lonnie Donegan covers—hadn’t already sent you there, then “Britainicana,” the Manchester four-piece’s own description of their sound, should set your expectations for something rootsy and pastoral on their second EP. That’s most explicitly delivered on the back-porch hymnal of closing track “In the Morning.” But elsewhere, the 2025 winners of Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition bear the names of pillars of UK and US indie rock just as vividly on their sleeves. The way opener “Strange Taxidermy” patiently swells from an astral hum to a swampy, psychedelic crescendo suggests Spiritualized, while echoes of Sonic Youth reverberate through the juxtaposition of insouciance and urgency on “Can’t See.” And there’s a kinship with Pavement in how all these lo-fi songs seem to spill out of them, brimful of ideas and melody. “The world is waiting for you/You don’t need a head start,” sings guitarist/singer Reuben Haycocks on “Can’t See.” On this assured showing, Westside Cowboy could be addressing themselves.

via Apple Music