Girl in a Coma
Adventures in Coverland
Blackheart Records
San Antonio, Texas-based rock trio Girl in a Coma is back with a collection of songs that takes their fans through Adventures in Coverland. After partially releasing interpretations of some of the band's favorite songs on 7-inch vinyl this spring, the entire collection of covers are out today on CD by Blackheart Records with a few new tracks added in the mix.
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In Adventures in Coverland the all-female rockers stay away from the
obvious. Though Girl in a Coma takes their name from a song by the
Smiths, no such re-inventions of any tracks from that band or the solo
career of Morrissey that followed are present on the album. Being
signed to Joan Jett's Blackheart Records also doesn't automatically
translate into any tributes to the Runaways, though Girl in a Coma has
collaborated with the singer on their last album, Trio B.C. What the
ladies selected instead were eight songs that reflected the musical
diversity of their teenage upbringing all the way from Selena to the
Beatles.
The musical adventures on the new album begin with a blistering power
punk rendition “Si Una Vez” from the now 15-years deceased queen of
Tejano music Selena Quintanilla.
Bringing back memories of the fun long
defunct LA-based Los Abandoned's Selena set closer “Como La Flor” used
to bring, Girl in a Coma's own homage to the slain singer is a mix of
cumbia-style drumming on the verses that kick off into distorted riff
rocking choruses all the while vocalist Nina Diaz wails in raspy-tinged
Spanish.
Going back in music history a couple decades, another notable cover
included is Ritchie Valens' “Come On Let's Go.” The band previously
took on the music of '50s rocker immortalized in La Bamba, years ago
singing “We Belong Together” as part of the “Mexico! Mexico! Rock!
Rock! Rock!” concert at the Ford Amphitheater in Hollywood. This time
around, “Come On Let's Go” is punchy and to the point with the only
thing seemingly missing is Ritchie Valens' older brother lamenting the
number of vocal takes in the studio! (Watch the movie again!)
The Mexican musical heritage of Girl in a Coma intermingles with other
influences on Adventures in Coverland. Nina Diaz's noteworthy voice
soars once more in channeling Patsy Cline in “Walkin' After Midnight.”
Angered by all the xenophobic madness in Arizona, the band also inches
towards political expression in Buffalo Springfield's “For What It's
Worth,” going to show musical journeys into the past sometimes
illustrate how little has changed in the present.
Girl in a Coma rounds out their latest album with an acoustic version
of “BB” off of Trio B.C. as well as a brand new bilingual song, “Yo
Oigo.” It's the first time the band has recorded an original
composition in their mother tongue and signals what's to come in the
future when the ladies return from Coverland.
Gabriel San Román is from Anacrime. He’s a journalist, subversive historian and the tallest Mexican in OC. He also once stood falsely accused of writing articles on Turkish politics in exchange for free food from DönerG’s!