Release Date: November 1st, 2011
Early on in Girl in a Coma’s new Exits and All the Rest, it’s easy to tell there isn’t much variation of style throughout the length of the compilation. The band sticks to simple tunes, predictable progressions and decent lyrics.
“Adjust” starts with a low and hollow riff with an audibly heavy bassline. “Adjust” sounds mean-hearted and rough, which is quite obviously what the band was hoping to achieve for its energy. This lasts throughout the entire album.
The next song in the set beings about a much more upbeat highlight with a feel-good “Howlin’ For You” drum beat. Here in “One Eyed Fool” as speed and motivation picks up, it seems as though there’s hope for improvement. Girl in a Coma’s unsteady beginning already leads to doubt for anything substantial from the start.
“Smart” continues with a sound reminiscent of Metric’s strong and harsh feminine vocal tone. It could even be traced back to Joan Jett’s voice as inspiration. Who knows whether that is a stretch, though. The music ends up being much like a toned-down Feist.
There is some sort of significance in the juxtaposition of nicely written lyrics and the heavy, difficult energy of the sound. Girl in a Coma writes so freely but performs so harshly. It’s neat to hear the two be forced together to ultimately create its own sound. It does well for itself here and there, which is honorably innovative.
Vocalist Nina Diaz’ old-fashioned vibrato works with well with the smoky edge to her tone. She riffs in an individualistic way, carrying the end of certain words without pause onto the next verse. She does this often, and it’s especially present in less cloudy mixes.
“So” breaks down and adds a bit of vocal effects as harmonies are brought in and the emotions are softened for a bit. This break only happens once before the final two songs. Expect to hear everything in between sound spiteful and harsh. “Cemetery Baby” varies only slightly because of its mood, shifting from spiteful to soft and back again in the most anger-driven record in the set.
It’s never fair to spoil the ending, but we’ll tell you: the guitar effects become increasingly more distorted. If you’re shocked and alarmed, then sadly, you might be alone.
If you make it all the way to “Mother’s Lullaby,” first of all, congratulations. Second of all, allow yourself to alleviate some of the bitterness you might feel toward Exits and All the Rest and be still in the shallow strength of its final song.
Exits and All the Rest suffers in the way that it doesn’t provide the entertainment of an utter failure but simply leaves listeners with a less-than-mediocre muddling compilation of sorts. It follows the trends of many modern indie-rock bands but doesn’t go beyond the lines of its musical counterparts. Girl in a Coma stays within the boundaries of its genre.
This predictable noise not exciting, inspiring nor original. By the end, you might notice could’ve filled the second half of the album yourself.
Girl in a Coma – Exits and All the Rest tracklist:
- “Adjust”
- “One Eyed Fool”
- “Smart”
- “She Had a Plan”
- “So”
- “Cemetery Baby”
- “Knocking at Your Door”
- “Hope”
- “Control”
- “Sly”
- “Mother’s Lullaby”
