With Brash and Broken, Kolkata-born, Berlin-based artist Calcutta Cowboy presents a debut EP that thrives on contradiction. Blending acoustic-led songwriting with touches of indie folk, soft rock, and country music, the record explores themes of self-doubt, romantic idealism, alienation, and personal growth. Tracks like 'growing old' embrace imperfection, reflecting the nonlinear nature of self-discovery. Beyond its music, the EP also challenges conventional ideas of what a country-inspired artist should look and sound like.
What image pops up in your head when you think of a cowboy? A rather large Caucasian man in a wide-brimmed hat, wearing a belt that feels disproportionately large for his torso? Yeah, same. Well, that was until Calcutta Cowboy.
Gary Johnson, a Kolkata-born, Berlin-based artist, is a kurta-wearing, cowboy-boot-sporting singer who is recalibrating what an artist in a particular genre is expected to look like. His latest EP, 'Brash and Broken,' captures that very same paradox at the heart of being a Calcutta Cowboy.
The title itself captures the push and pull that defines much of the project: youthful confidence colliding with self-doubt and the romantic idealism rubbing against emotional exhaustion. These tensions are woven into songs that feel intimate and conversational, as though Calcutta Cowboy is working through questions in real time rather than presenting neatly packaged answers.
Musically, the EP sits comfortably within a guitar-driven singer-songwriter tradition. Acoustic guitars remain at the forefront, carrying melodies that feel warm and familiar. There are echoes of indie folk, soft rock, and country influences scattered throughout the record, but none of them overwhelm the artist’s own voice.
The inclusion of a track like 'growing old (demo)' feels intentional, reinforcing the idea that growth is rarely linear and that unfinished thoughts can sometimes reveal more than polished conclusions. Even when the songs deal with themes of apathy or uncertainty, there is a quiet optimism running beneath the surface.
For a debut release, Brash and Broken feels remarkably self-assured in its honesty. Calcutta Cowboy focuses on being genuine, leading to a collection of songs that capture the messiness of trying to understand yourself in all your contradictions. The goal of the EP seems to be to make you reconsider what you deem to be ‘conventional’. I mean we never really had a Calcutta Cowboy before now, did we?
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