Girl in a Coma

Girl in a Coma

"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. Surf tones on "Smart" show off the ladies swinging. Nina D's vocals hazing in the mix, but local producer Mike McCarthy lends Exits a sonic integration on par with the album's sunset cover art. That same film coats the indelible fuzz of "She Had a Plan," a hopscotching firing squad of Alamo City noir. All the Rest later blurs into trio clamor, cathartic but in need of compositional improvement, which has thus far proved Girl in a Coma's cross to bear. An abrasive ache to closer "Mother's Lullaby" soothes the wound. (Girl in a Coma marks its Exits at Mohawk, Friday, Oct. 28.)