Album Review: Winning Streak – We Need A Plan

Texan melodic punks Winning Streak are set to drop their new album “We Need A Plan” in just a few days time via Disconnect Disconnect Records in Europe and Thousand Islands Records in North America. Having the backing of the duo of labels, that also re-issued their debut album “Whichever Path You Take” earlier this year, is not the only shift since their debut album was released in 2018, the band has also seen an expansion in their line up with Much The Same‘s Chris McGrath and Debt Cemetary‘s Davey Knight being welcomed into the fold alongside the established trio of Andrew Palmer, Sam Koehl and Michael Hall.

Any fears that Winning Streak might have abandoned their roots with the new line up and labels is swiftly dispelled, “We Need A Plan” still has the blend of melodic punk rock and skatepunk that drew in fans of Over It, Rufio and No Use For A Name. To underpin their credentials they have members of the latter of those bands and Lipona guesting on the album, bands which Winning Streak have previously released standalone covers of, something that indicates that this is a band are very much wearing their influences on their sleeves. From the outset that suspicion is proved to be valid, as “We Need A Plan” is an album filled to the brim with the kind of skatepunk infused melodic hardcore that takes you back to the glory days of the EpiFat releases.

It would be unfair to brand Winning Streak as being completely embedded in the past, whilst their roots run back to the pioneers of this kind of technical breakneck skatepunk, this is an album that brings things bang up to date. Whilst the pace never relents on the album, the emphasis tends to be towards the melodic with technical flourishes that will make metal fans weep with joy. With “We Need A Plan” Winning Streak have released a genre straddling album of accessible fast melodic hardcore that brightens your day, and as this is 2020, and most of us stuck in lockdown, this is exactly the soundtrack that we all need right now

“We Need A Plan” is available for pre-order on CD and vinyl via Disconnect Disconnect Records in Europe, Thousand Islands Records in North America and for download and streaming pretty much everywhere else via digital platforms including Bandcamp