Raw, angry and REAL - this trio's first album is melodic and visceral
Based in Nashville, Winona Fighter – frontwoman and multi-instrumentalist Coco Kinnon, lead guitarist Dan Fuson and bassist/producer Austin Luther – formed after Coco moved there from Boston. Making a strong impression with their 2022 debut EP, ‘Father Figure‘, three of its songs were re-recorded for ‘My Apologies To The Chef‘, the band’s debut album, but their power and potency is in no way diminished. In fact, the rage and frustration that courses through them, and which also infuses the band’s energetic and compelling live shows, feels even more visceral, pointed and necessary than before, something that carries over into the other songs too.
“I feel like we’re taught to suppress our anger,” Coco says, “whether it’s to do with what’s going on in the world or in our lives. And that’s so lame. Why are we so okay with people being sad and anxious, and not okay with people having an outlet to be angry? That just blows my mind. I think if more people were able to be angry, maybe everyone would be a little happier.”
Coco continues; “Our amazing label Rise Records allowed us to take our DIY approach to the recording of the album. The process was a dream scenario. It was just me and Dan and Austin in our home studio from pre-production to sending it off for mastering. I couldn’t think of a better introduction to the band. 14 hard hitting tracks, straight from a guest bedroom or garage. It’s raw. It’s got grit. It’s got emotion. It’s three punks obsessed with music making tunes for people obsessed with music. It’s our love letter to the punk-rock genre.”
Opening track ‘JUMPERCABLES‘ is a catchy indie-punk anthem that’s fun and fiery in equal measure. ‘You Look Like A Drunk Phoebe Bridgers‘ and ‘Subaru‘ soar with the band’s trademark catchy hooks and choruses. “‘Subaru‘ is a leaving home and finding yourself anthem” says Coco. “Every time we moved on, packing up our cars, and making it work.”
The chaotic ‘HAMMS IN A GLASS‘ strikes a chord with those who are struggling with their mental health due to stress. The blistering guitar solo in the break illustrates these emotions perfectly!
Of ‘TALK‘, Coco explains “It’s about feeling like your name is always in someone’s mouth. The more limelight we get the more we are susceptible to trolls, insecure people, and even artists that want to undercut you by spreading nonsense. It’s the wild f*cking west out here and we’ve dealt with it all.”
‘Swimmer’s Ear‘ balances tender aggression and self-deprecation. The almost childlike chant of the vocal against the buzzing guitars evokes a sense of the difficulty of growing up and making mistakes – both are inevitable!
One of the angrier songs on the album, ‘R U FAMOUS‘ is a blast of powerfully bitter vitriol tempered by humor, intelligence, and nuance. “It is about someone who always tries to see what they can get out of people doing well in their music career.” explains Coco. “It’s a situation I think unfortunately happens to a lot of up and comers, and something that happened to us via a person we thought was a friend.”
Self-deprication and aggression are also present in the snarky catchiness of ‘I Think You Should Leave‘ and throughout the blistering urgency of ‘I’M IN THE MARKET TO PLEASE NO ONE‘, a song about dating abuse inspired by a letter Coco wrote for a therapy session. The idea was to write it, get all her feelings out and then destroy it, but for some reason she kept it. When she stumbled across it sometime later, the band were already gaining ground and the idea for the song was born.
“I found it at a time where people were starting to really listen to our music,” she remembers. “There were a lot of young women coming to our shows and a lot of dads being like, ‘Oh my God, my daughter would love you guys.’ So it felt like the right time to use my voice to sing about something pretty serious.”
‘I Think You Should Leave‘ is about “when someone you really care for and admire does something that negatively impacts or hurts you, even if that wasn’t their intention” explains Coco. “Then when you try to have a conversation with them, it goes in the opposite direction. You can love someone, but you don’t have to like them all the time!”
‘ATTENTION‘ is a call to arms that rages against the societal issues that gone unchecked for far too long. “It’s about watching the rise in methamphetamine usage and fentanyl poisoning while growing up in New Hampshire.” says Coco. “It’s about having to pay out of pocket for life changing or life SAVING medications and women getting denied coverage for birth control that won’t completely wreck their hormones. It’s about shelters consistently being at capacity while puppy mills are still unethically producing millions of dogs a year.”
‘Wlbrn St Tvrn‘ was inspired by Wilburn Street Tavern, a small live music bar the band played when they were struggling to find their place in the Nashville non-country scene. “This was at the time when TikTok was really blowing up, and we played a show with a few people who were having success on TikTok” recalls Coco. “They would brush you off, kick rocks, we were always being met with some sort of disrespect – but WE brought the most people to the show!”
‘Swear To God That I’m (FINE)‘ is an explosion of defiant self-affirmation. Feeling like you can’t compete with the beautiful people (not helped by popular media!) and not wanting to be popular just for how you look, a war cry for those who achieve recognition for their hard work and capabilities.
‘Johnny’s Dead‘ is a heart-wrenching tale about substance abuse, and how somebody would become embroiled in that situation – it can happen more easily than you think! There’s often guilt about not being able to help a friend gripped by addiction, but the sad reality is that you can’t, and the substance abuse often takes them too soon..
Despite the strength in these songs’ delivery, underlying them all is a raw vulnerability. It’s the band’s ability to overcome that, and the adversity that inspired it in the first place, that makes this album truly special. That comes across nowhere more strongly than on the album finale, ‘DON’T WALLOW‘. Originally written about the band flyering to promote ‘Johnny’s Dead‘ outside a festival they weren’t actually playing, the song turns a negative and embarrassing experience into a source of positive inspiration.
“It was very humbling,” says Coco, “and a little embarrassing to stand outside of a music festival you could be playing and handing out flyers, but we want this so bad. You should be uncomfortable all the time during this process. That’s how a lot of our career has felt up until this point and I think it’s going to continue to feel that way. If you’re comfortable, you’re not doing enough.”
The band’s debut ‘My Apologies To The Chef‘ is a wonderfully raw and cohesive reflection on life today that bottles the spirited and cathartic energy of the band’s live shows, as well as the angst and anxiety of being alive.
Catch Winona Fighter out on tour in the US and the UK this year – dates below:
‘My Apologies To The Chef’ is out NOW via Rise Records – stream / purchase the new album HERE
Main Photo Credit: LINDSEY BYRNES
- JUMPERCABLES
- You Look Like A Drunk Phoebe Bridgers
- Subaru
- HAMMS IN A GLASS
- TALK
- Swimmer’s Ear
- R U FAMOUS
- I Think You Should Leave
- I’M IN THE MARKET TO PLEASE NO ONE
- ATTENTION
- Wlbrn St Tvrn
- Swear To God That I’m (FINE)
- Johnny’s Dead
- DON’T WALLOW
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