“Pin Up Boys,” the new single from Westside Cowboy, reminds me of early Bruce Springsteen at the very beginning. It only sounds a little like something the Boss would have cooked up, though the lead vocals of guitarist Reuben Haycocks definitely carry some of the earthy earnestness that defined Springsteen’s proudly unpolished singing back in the day. I think what really gets to me is a taut confidence that basic rock ‘n’ roll structures remains one of the best ways to tell an emotional story. What other approach could possibly provide suitable backing for the lyrics “”If nothing else, at least I looked alive/ I was standing to attention by the time that you arrived/ And if there was one thing for certain that a man like me can’t see/ It’s the face that I was pulling when you looked right through me.”

The song gets bigger and rougher as it goes. Even so, the band is always totally in control. The music frays without unraveling. Every small addition to the song enhances what’s already in place, exemplified by bassist Aoife Anson O’Connell joining the vocals at the end with the sort of tuneful, aching calls that once signified Dolores O’Riordan was about to take a Cranberries song to the next level.

The debut full-length from Westside Cowboy, It Goes On, is scheduled for release in August.