Hey Cowboy launched 2018 with the release of their debut album The Soft Kind. Instead of a lead guitar, the music is guided along by bass, synth, drums, and their surreal voices. 

“Freckles” acquaints listeners with Gaby Rodriguez’s crisp drumming and Sydney Harding-Sloan’s impressive synth work layered with Micah Vargas’s bass line. “Gaby’s Noodles” introduces vocals sung in beautiful French with added instrumental exploration. The remaining five tracks elaborate on their sound featuring vocals that are at once richly harmonious, choral, textured, and playful. Their electric synth-pop is different in each song, clearly felt in the juxtaposition of the longing, straightforward expression of “Cowboy” and the aggressive, melodic, and compelling combination of themes and styles in “Cowgirl.” These DAM-nominated ladies (for Best New Music Act) have already left quite the indelible mark on the year, and it's exciting to see where these three cowgirls go in 2018 and beyond. 

Hey Cowboy is performing at Backyard on Bell on January 27 at 9 p.m., playing alongside Austin band The Sour Notes and Sun Babies.
 

Header image courtesy of Hey Cowboy
Header image designed by Mateo Granados