The other girls are gnawing on their pencils in History class. Girl in a Coma strolled out after third period. She lights a cigarette in a bathroom stall and heads for the junkyard. A three-piece rock band from San Antonio, Girl in a Coma has all the street smarts of a city maven but likes to kick around country towns instead. Stray sands grind beneath her boots as she climbs the rusted body of an old Buick, and with the sun at its peak, she lets out her rebel yell.
Rough edged guitars and accelerating drum phrases stomp on “Static Mind,” a rollicking anthem from Girl in a Coma’s latest release Trio B.C. Their music doesn’t wait for an audience – it stands up straight, totally confident in itself whether people are watching or not. On “Pleasure and Pain,” Nina Diaz manages to slosh her whisky-on-the-rocks voice with notable control, sliding skillfully between a hearty warble and punchy falsetto accents. She lets her vowels roam around her wail but yanks everything back in, tying up loose ends with her trademark vibrato tugs. Perfect for a Friday night in Cambridge, Girl in a Coma brings the sass to Middle East Downstairs, July 23 at 7 p.m.