Music / Reviews
Review: Westside Cowboy, the Exchange – ‘A band who love to play’
Endearing and boldly unique, Westside Cowboy grace Bristol with power and a pure-hearted performance at the tightly-packed Exchange.
They coin their sound as ‘Britainicana’ – nostalgic British punk and indie-fused American Country – and play as artists who are masters of their craft.
Beginning the evening, Holly Head embrace chaos in their modern conception of punk through a whirlwind set of abrasive soundscapes and vulnerable emotion.
They hail from Manchester, a four-piece band making waves with their boundary-pushing new tracks combining aspects of shoegaze, punk an 90’s emo with unique groove-heavy baselines.
There’s a depth to their sound where audience can ebb and flow through each song: drum breakdowns, scratchy guitars, visceral bass and flowing chords reminiscent of the Strokes and the Stone Roses forge a fabulous balance.
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Screaming vocals of politically-charged anger and passion cut through the wall of sound before dissolving into deep instrumentation. You can truly lose yourself in their sound.
They are certainly a band who take themselves seriously onstage, and perhaps function more as four individual artists live – a distinct atmosphere to the clear relationships of Westside Cowboy whose individual contribution to the sound melds seamlessly, despite their presence as a team onstage.
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Passing their guitar over the crowd to get to the stage, the Exchange is oozing with excitement. Another sign of good things to come is the huge cheer as Westside Cowboy bound onto stage to the backing of Jackie Wilson’s Higher and Higher: what a way to start a show!
Another Manchester-based four-piece, they are held to high standards in the emerging indie scene from the likes of Black Country New Road, Geese and Huw Stephens and were awarded 2025’s Glastonbury Emerging Talent slot.
Their session tracks and recent second EP buzz with clarity, but their music truly comes alive onstage. Beginning the set with painfully hanging guitar chords reminiscent of 80s rock, they melt into a meticulously crafted mix of shoegaze-meets-indie rock, punk and slacker charm.
Last year’s Glastonbury festival emerging talent winners are taking venues across the country by storm on their UK tour
They shout with the passion of a truly British band, yet somehow find ways to sprinkle in the aforementioned ‘cowboy’-western quick beats that get feet tapping without even realising.
It was a performance for the audience and members alike, all smiling, laughing, dancing and mesmerised by the music they create.
True artistry is the core of the band, with an ability to move from moments of gentle clarity, Adrianne Lenker-style acapella sections which humbly take the breath away, to diving headfirst into explosive drums to a beat seemingly struck from thin air – and the crowd absorb every single second possible.
Praise must be given to the ‘drum encyclopedia’ Paddy Murphy whose crisp, impulsive drumming against the methodical harmonised vocals balance effortlessly within every song.
Murphy impressed his striking drum breaks
The vocals are steeped in emotional vulnerability and power, leaving questions as to how they are able to put so much heart into their performance night after night on tour.
Lead singer James Bradbury thanks the audience: ‘It’s so awesome to see people in a place that we don’t live’ as evidence of their mould-breaking new material able to connect to the masses.
With their own brand of ‘Britainanica’ the band blend a capella vocal harmonies with punk thrash-outs
All hands were in the air to thank Westside Cowboy for their short set bursting at the seams with amazing stuff, both new and old.
They are a band who love to play, and it is so brilliant to see their camaraderie onstage as a group of friends and talented artists.
All images: Poppy Beresford
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