There's a particular kind of band that only really make sense when you catch them mid-stride. 'So Much Country' Till We Get There', the second EP from Westside Cowboy, feels exactly like that: five songs written, recorded and released by a band moving too quickly to stop and overthink what they're becoming, and sounding all the better for it.
Westside Cowboy have barely stopped moving. The shows have been scrappy, loud and full of the kind of energy that usually disappears once bands start sanding things down. 'So Much Country…' sounds like it was made in that headspace, fuelled by momentum and a refusal to slow ideas down.
The EP feels more spread out than the band's debut, happier to wander than to rush. 'Strange Taxidermy' opens things up in a jittery, slightly sideways way, while 'Can't See' keeps the pressure on with a breathless, forward pull that already feels live-wired. The songs don't always head in the same direction, but they keep moving regardless.
'Don't Throw Rocks', the EP's centrepiece, leans hardest into that idea of movement. It keeps adding layers, getting heavier without ever settling into a neat finish. There's no obvious release point, just a sense of the band pushing things a bit further each time. That way of working turns up again and again across the EP - songs evolve rather than resolve.
One of the more interesting things about 'So Much Country...' is how loosely it wears its influences. The band's self-described 'Britainicana' tag has always been more about attitude than genre. Country flickers at the edges, sitting alongside indie guitar rushes, scrappy rhythms, and a sense of communal push and pull.
What ties everything together is a willingness to embrace imperfection. These songs don't sound laboured, never trying to hide their jagged edges. If anything, they embrace them. That looseness gives a charm to a record that feels more like a snapshot rather than a destination.
'So Much Country...' doesn't pretend to be a finished picture. It's a document of a band still figuring things out, enjoying the rush of being in motion. As stepping stones go, it's an encouraging one: messy in places, exciting throughout, and full of the sense that wherever Westside Cowboy end up next, they're not planning to slow down to get there.
