Winona Fighter - “I Think You Should Leave”

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 6

Pairs Well With…Paramore, Jimmy Eat World, Olivia Rodrigo 

Quick driving punk-pop from Nashville, Winona Fighter’s sound is built on a bed of alt-rock hooks, more arena than garage on their debut EP Father Figure and a string of high-quality, follow-up singles since. Heavy riffs with reverb maxed, Winona Fighter’s approach is striking in that they’re able to a take a punk-rock foundation and sound fully catchy and even sweet through melodic expertise. While there’s little that falls into experimental territory, there’s a nonchalance in the band’s vocal that is still delivered with a full punch, like breaking out of character and staring at the camera for a few seconds. Teenage anthems of fuck yous pepper Winona Fighter’s music in a way that is more sure than vulnerable, a nice change of pace from the purposeful distance that is top of mind in the pop canon these days. In what could be wholly aggressive, Winona Fighter instead filter their emo-tions into bright licks and vocal licks and the result ends up being pure fun and surprisingly resonant. (Kevin McStravick)