Winnetka Bowling League are a band hailing from LA, fronted by notable songwriter/producer Matthew Koma. He has written hits such as “Clarity” by DJ Zedd and worked with artists like Shania Twain and Britney Spears. I found out about them from a 2026 album by a different artist that I will be reviewing very soon…

Now I have quite interesting opinions on their music. Their EPs have quite a lot of enjoyable songs for me, even though I don’t think any of them are amazing in full. A lot of groovy/quirky indie rock and power pop songs with more rock n roll/Britpop swagger than some of the very light modern indie pop music I don’t really enjoy.

I found their only album so far, 2024’s Sha La La even more strange. The second half of the album has that melodic guitar-driven sound I enjoy. However, the first half has that very poppy light indie sound I don’t really like. I also do find Koma’s lyrical style a bit too wordy overall – I feel he tries to cram as many niche pop-culture references in to each song as he can.

*Koma seems to wear sunglasses at every opportunity – rock n roll!

However, I can make a brilliant rocky playlist out of their work so far that I enjoy. I would be interested to see if they pursue the direction of the second half of their debut album in future projects, along with the more Kasabian style riffs of some earlier songs.

So rather than recommend the band based on albums, I decided to make the album I wish they had released! Thanks for reading.

1. Feeling California
2. Kombucha
3. Kangaroo
4. The Romantic Way
5. Come To The Beach
6. Dandelion
7. Diane
8. Handsome
9. We’re Not Having Any Fun
10. Breakfast for Dinner
11. Jesus Saves