Manchester indie four-piece Westside Cowboy have announced their debut album, It Goes On, slated for release on August 21st via Island Records. The announcement is spearheaded by the propulsive new single “Kick Stones (The Boys),” which earned an immediate premiere on BBC 6 Music. The track arrives alongside a music video filmed in collaboration with the fan-owned football club FC United of Manchester, kicking off a major chapter for the rising group.
“Kick Stones (The Boys)” serves as a heady introduction to the quartet’s self-described transcendent indie sound. While the song carries a massive, driving energy, the band initially worried the track’s scale might push them too far into mainstream stadium-rock territory. To ground the song within their own sensibilities, bassist and vocalist Aoife Anson O’Connell and drummer Paddy Murphy turned to a live recording of The Velvet Underground’s classic “What Goes On” as a sonic template, filtering massive ’70s rock ambition through a scrappy, youthful lens.
Drummer Paddy Murphy notes that the true crux of the song is “as much about how we made it as the lyrics”.
bassist/vocalist Aoife Anson O’Connell explains.
“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.”
Paddy details,
“We always thought, if we can pull this off it could be really fun. Taking this mad, ‘70s rock thing but then having it played by a bunch of scrawny kids.”
This deliberate creative direction defines the entirety of It Goes On, which was recorded at Greenmount Studios in Leeds. Working closely with acclaimed producer Loren Humphrey (Geese, Wunderhorse), the band spent their sessions engaging in a deep creative dialogue to carefully map out the record’s sonic identity. Across its eleven tracks, the album aims to distil the chaotic emotional landscape of young adulthood, tackling themes of confusion, desperation, and blind hope with striking musical thoughtfulness.
The single’s regional roots are further emphasised by its official music video, which sees Westside Cowboy partnering with FC United of Manchester—the independent club famously formed by a splinter group of fans following Manchester United’s corporate takeover. By aligning themselves with the community-driven team, the Manchester newcomers highlight the same fiercely independent spirit that fuels their raw approach to modern guitar music.
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