Album Review: Exits & All the Rest by Girl in a Coma

After embracing the concept of the covers album with 2010's Adventures in Coverland, San Antonio trio Girl in a Coma get back to reviving the riot grrrl scene with their fourth album, Exits & All the Rest. Produced by Mike McCarthy (Spoon), the likes of the bass-driven garage rock of "Knocking at Your Door," the pogo-inducing glam of "One Eyed Fool," and the sludgy grunge of "Mother's Lullaby" are just as ballsy, raw, and noisy as anything the early '90s could muster, while frontwoman Nina Diaz remains a tour de force, effortlessly pushing her voice to the limits throughout its 11 tracks, as evident on the no-nonsense punk feistiness of stop-start opener "Adjust," the whiskey-soaked anguish on the slow-building country-tinged "Sly," and the tortured howls on the galloping sleazy fuzz-rock of "Control. " These heavier amp-cranking tracks are what you'd expect from a band signed to Joan Jett's Blackheart Records label, but less predictable is the middle section, which reveals a more melodic, slightly mellower, and arguably more compelling side.

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Girl in a Coma is a three piece Mexican-American all girl punkish rock band from Texas signed to Joan Jett’s record label. That’s apt, as the group has all of the sweaty vigor of Jett in her early days. And, yes, the group takes its name from the Smiths’ “Girlfriend in a Coma”, and, yes, there are times on Exits & All the Rest, particularly on the songs “Smart” and “So”, where the group has that singular jingle jangle sound that Johnny Marr trademarked.

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"Adjust" captures Exits & All the Rest in a burst, its first half-minute the calm before Nina Diaz's vocal twister booms reminiscent of Linda Perry's 4 Non Blondes. Her seared guitar also fits the bill. Scrapes and scratches peel more than skin on this San Antonio trio's fourth disc. Diaz's thick riffing falls into perfect sync with Jennifer Alva's pulsing bass and sister Phanie Diaz's hiccupping beat on the succeeding "One Eyed Fool" to set in stone the power of three.

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