Girl in a Coma

Texas has given the music world genre mash-ups that, if only for a moment, transcend the historical tensions of its diverse population. Mexicans and Anglos got together in musical utopia for the Texas Tornados' irresistible blend of Tejano and country; a similar phenomenon is at play with Trio B.C., the sophomore effort from San Antonio's Girl in a Coma. Co-produced by Gabriel Gonzalez (of alt-country outfit Sleepercar) and Greg Collins, the all-Latina rock trio threads through its rockabilly, country, Latin and punk influences and creates a universal sound that defines the new album.

Singer/guitarist Nina Diaz, already highly touted as an exciting new voice in rock, flourishes here with her tremulous vibrato—especially on the ballad "El Monte," on which her dynamic vocals tell a tale of loving yet doubtful adoration as palm-muted plucking intermingles with slinky guitar slides. Jenn Alva's skillful bass lines add texture to the band's arrangements, as evident in the catchy "Trail," while Phanie D's drumming keeps steady pace with the album's changing directions—sometimes moving to the forefront, as with the calculated palpitations of "Pleasure and Pain."

With "Ven Cerca," the Texas trio closes out the album by returning to its roots in interpreting the song by female-fronted Mexican rock band Los Spitfires. Faithfully recorded in Spanish—a first for the girls—"Ven Cerca" is seductive in its grinding tempo and rasp. By the time the song quietly withdraws from its wrathful rock, Girl in a Coma concludes its case that the ear-pleasing chord changes and vocals at the musical root of Trio B.C. can truly wake the half-dead.