Girl In A ComaSan Antonio, Texas all-female band who are signed to punk legend, Joan Jett's Blackheart Records. I believe this is the band's debut release and it's almost a year old already, so I guess this review is a little outdated, but hey, we here at SicZine have regular jobs and lives to worry about and sometimes these reviews can be slow moving. Besides, unlike most zines, SicZine actually takes the time to spin each CD/record many times before passing judgment. No one and done listens before writing the review. Anyway, enough with drawn-out tangents...on to the review.
The band's name, Girl In A Coma, is obviously a reference to The Smith's song titled, "Girlfriend In A Coma". And within that reference you get the backbone for this band's sound. Most of the songs are heavily structured on Johnny Marr's guitar riffs and Morrissey's sensual crooning. Singer Nina Diaz has a beautiful yet tortured voice that sounds years ahead of her age. If you crossed Garbage's Shirley Manson and Morrissey's respected vocal chops, it would be in the same ballpark as Nina's.
Aside from The Smiths, Girl In A Coma has a fairly sizeable 90's alternative rock influence especially in the form of The Smashing Pumpkins. The subtleness of the song structures is highly reminiscent of The Pumpkins in their heyday. When Girl In A Coma decides to throw out a little punk flair, you can hear Bikini Kill slicing out of your speakers such as on the CD's opening track, "Clumsy Sky". A strong debut from a band that has potential to be heard. Girl In A Coma readily wear their influences on their sleeve and need to find their own identity, but this is expected from a new and young band. With that being said, they do their Smiths-meets-90's rock sound very well and should slowly incorporate their own stamp on future releases.
Rating: 3.5/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: "Road To Home", "Clumsy Sky" & "Mr Chivalry"
Synopsis: The Smiths, Smashing Pumpkins, Bikini Kill, Garbage, etc... all these bands that Girl In A Coma have as influences are top-notch bands that were all excellent songwriters. Studying these bands is a great way to learn music and form a successful band. In science, do you study the scientists that offered minimal work to their studies? No, you read up on the innovators and groundbreaking scientists. That's what Girl In A Coma have done, by studying some of the best rock bands of the past 20 years. Hopefully this group can lose the obviousness of their influences by incorporating their own sound.