The Westerns – they do that annoying thing where they have all have the last name Western, which was cool when the Ramones did it, and OK when the Donnas did it, but is otherwise endlessly annoying to me – have a decent sound, as evidenced by the first song, “The Curse of Neglect.” The music is good, with some nice mournful steel guitars and a jittery little rhythm, but the vocals need work. I’m not a huge fan of Danny Western’s voice throughout the record, but here it’s at it's worst, mixed loud, hard and clear, as he sings some pretty decent lyrics (“I come from a long line of mad sons of bitches, the ones who aren’t afraid to come within inches”). The vocals get much, much better on “Your Black Heart,” my favorite song on the record, when Danny comes in twangy after a woeful little melodica (cross between a harmonica and an accordion) opening.
The EP is also plagued with occasionally self-indulgent guitar work, the most glaring example midway through the second song, “Railroad Gal,” but mostly the sound works, though it’s obviously still maturing. The New Westerns is a pretty down tempo record – the first 1:05 of “So Long Tennessee” is actually silent (yawn) – but it’s got a nice flavor, and I’d love to hear what this band can do rocking out a little, with Danny’s twang in full effect.