JAM THE TRACKS WHILE YOU READ
"GREAT ADD YOU SAUCY MINX" - BEN
WINONA FIGHTER
FATHER FIGURE
August 27th, 2023
Winona Fighter puts the pun in punk with their name a joyous nod to Ms. Ryder, but it’s the shredding guitars and sometimes blistering lyrics that transforms a simple smirk into a smoldering smile. Coco and company want to rock. And they are doing it in a Nashville that needs this kind of scene. May 2022 saw the release of the Father Figure EP. A year later they dropped a new single “Hamms in a Glass”. This was my introduction to Winona Fighter. I want it to be yours too. A ten second building intro leaves you unprepared for the in your face lyrical smash of: “Got pulled over / And I’m getting closer to blowing my fucking brains / Out of money / Ain’t it lovely to do the same old thing.” Coco is not playing around with subtlety. And neither is the rest of the song because when the drop comes we are met with a killer guitar solo that runs with crisp metal lines rather than sloppy lofi punk.
Coco doesn’t have time for your drama, your lame TikTok page. She’s not your friend. She’s not your dad. She’s a walking talking PSA “for all you douchebags and fucking phonies out there.” And this is exactly what she sings on EP opener “Wlbrn St Tvrn”, titled after an actual East Nashville dive. One could do some lit crit acrobatics and view these lyrics as a self-directed “shit-talk phase” but we won’t do that kind of tumbling here.
Coco, Dan Fuson (lead guitar), and Austin Luther (bass), have put out 7 songs so far. “Johnny’s Dead” is the newest. It might be their catchiest yet. They are the kind of songs people call punk. The kind of songs found on New Punk or Pop Punk playlists. Whatever you call them, they are the kind of songs you play loud. But even when the lyrical content brings angst you know this crew has a good sense of humor. Sometimes you just have to get in your hand-me-down Subaru and listen to great tunes. “It’s enough to get [you] through.”
- TRENT RYAN SMITH