total tommy Makes You Headbang to Homesickness on Newest Single, “Winona Forever”
Photo by Billy Zammit
With each release, total tommy exemplifies more and more of her outgoing expression, and her latest single, “Winona Forever,” is a playlist must-have that revels in this energy. The Australian artist’s journey from synth-pop beginnings to her confident, current direction of raw, emotionally charged indie-grunge reaches another high point on this track. Inspired by travel, cinema and the awkward feeling of existing between places, “Winona Forever” homes in on the back and forth between losing yourself and holding onto the people, memories and identities that keep you grounded.
total tommy, aka Jess Holt, has emerged as an unavoidable voice in today’s alternative indie rock scene. She’s cultivated a following from shamelessly shining a bright light on personal yet universal experiences of self-discovery, relationships and queer identity. After releasing her 2024 debut album, bruises, total tommy continues to blend both vulnerability and a little bit of chaos with her 2026 singles, “Pretty Little Mouth” and now “Winona Forever.”
Written on her final day in London, the song captures the strange emotional limbo of living between cities and time zones, navigating what happens to a person’s sense of self when familiar faces and places are, all of a sudden, out of reach. “Winona Forever” is rooted in questions of home, identity and connection, delivered through fuzzy guitars, cathartic energy and pop culture shout-outs that make it all the more relatable. The song’s title and imagery stem from total tommy’s growing fascination with Winona Ryder films, ignited during a period of frequent long-haul flights. Sparked by a photograph of Ryder dwarfed by towering city buildings, “Winona Forever” reflects on the feeling of becoming small within an unfamiliar environment and the ways people subconsciously adapt to fit the spaces around them. The cinematic influence runs throughout the track, mixing nostalgia, solitude and dreamy storytelling into something both intimate and expansive.
The song kicks into gear when the snare drum hits, launching you into a rush of pop-punk energy that immediately yanks you in. Everything about the track thrives on raw elements: a feedback-drenched guitar solo, rolling drums that add to the craze, a thumping bass drum and unpolished vocals that feel completely unfiltered, yet still filled with intention. It carries the attitude of Wet Leg and early Avril Lavigne while remaining distinctly rooted in total tommy’s own artistry and voice, making it all the more refreshing.
There’s an unapologetic portrayal of storytelling that encases “Winona Forever,” with the lyrics feeling as though you’re playing back a voice note of yourself from an emotionally resonant moment in your life. It almost forces you to connect to it, making it impossible not to scream along. The track even fakes you out a little at times, settling into nonchalant guitar strums and mellowed-out vocals with airy echoes in the verses before pummeling back into the chorus. Lines like “Red eye / Watching Reality Bites / You always said I’d like it” cleverly nod to the Winona Ryder inspiration, while the chorus leans into the head-banging feeling of disorientation with an emphasized vocal filter and stomping bass drum. Adding the movie shout-out showcases another novel proof of intention from total tommy, considering that Reality Bites is all about growing twenty-something-year-olds trying to find their place in the real world, and with each other.
The track drops into a moment of gentle reflection when total tommy’s vocals are drowned out and echo-fied as the heaviness of the drums falls away — mirroring the feeling of distant loneliness.
The moment soon breaks by the time the final chorus crashes through, “I wanna break out of the city / I wanna hear you say you miss me,” and by then “Winona Forever” has become the type of song that evokes movement; if you’re not jumping — or at least on your feet — by the end, then you probably didn’t listen to it correctly.
Equal parts nostalgic, alive and deeply human, this single wraps up the frustration of being away from familiarity while reminding you of the people and memories that make you feel more connected. If “Winona Forever” is any indication of what’s next, total tommy is only becoming more assured in her ability to turn life’s ever-changing phases into anthems worth getting lost in.
Listen to "Winona Forever" below:
