reax music magazine :: music + culture » Reviews » Girl in a Coma - Both Before Im Gone

It’s a chick band kids, and they are actually pretty good.  The San Antonio native trio of Girl in a Coma (yes, it is a reference to the Smiths’ “Girlfriend in a Coma”) has released an abrasive and darkly romantic debut album.  The sound is punk with a bit of new wave flare and brief hints of 1960’s beach rock.  Haunting and emotionally alluring, Both Before I’m Gone whips through a perpetual motion of bouncy and high-paced beats, with the occasional slow dance thrown in between.  Still, what really hooks me in are the vocal abilities of lead singer Nina Diaz and the gut-wrenching tone to which she approaches her songs.  With a fantastic range, she processes both the throaty wale and trill of Karen O, and yet still manages to maintain a hint of delicacy in her voice that brings Regina Spektor to mind.  Her voice is simply captivating, but in the edgiest way possible making every song on the album intriguing and relatable. – Cristina Martin