Two New Ones From Blackheart Records

Girl In A Coma - Both Before I'm Gone (www.blackheartrecords.com)
I know what you're thinkin' and yeah, you're right! Girl In A Coma got their (cool) name from Morrissey's classic song "Girlfriend in a Coma." Drawing on their influences such as The Smiths and The Pixies, they not only pay homage to them, they also add their own unique, original freshness to their new album, Both Before I'm Gone. Ok, enough with the history, let's get to the fun stuff! Slipping away from a harsher punk sound, the songs are a mix of arm-wrestling melodies and pure pop craft. The songs have a greater range and assurance, expanding beyond a genre that is genuine to their punk roots. Yet, their sound gets in your face, and aimes to blow your ears away at times. Their style can be fast and angry, but it can also come around to sweetly melodic. Now don't think for even a second that they gonna fill your head with ear candy. Girl in a Coma (siblings Nina - guitar, vocals and Phaine Diaz - drums, and childhood friend Jenn Alva- bass), can create emotional drama in surprisingly tuneful ways. Produced by Kenny Laguna (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Eyelinners, Vacancies), he tosses in modest atmospherics while keeping the songs very melodic. Like the Smiths some of the cuts have darker grooves, but the vibe of songs comes across as upbeat. And just for the record this is not a cutesy, or whimsical band. They came to knock you out, take your money, and blow your mind! Nina has a soulful, growl of a voice that, combined with the guitar-bass-drums line-up, takes it back to the early days. With Phanie and Jenn's solid rhythm section reminding us why they call it punk rock. When they get to a rave up like "Mr. Chivarly", they sound more like the Go Go's evil twin. Hard, bashed-out melodic punk, accentuated by pop vocal yelps. Girl In A Coma (Girlinacoma.com) are untouchable, and going further than most bands doesn't necessarily mean extreme. They leave room next album and the next and ...

- Phil Rainone


The Vacancies - Tantrum (www.Blackheartrecords.com)

"Compound" opens the disc like a stick of dynamite with a short fuse. They get their message across in like, fifty seconds. From there the songs are a little longer, but they don't lose any of the band's intense lyrical or musical prowess. Each song is punctuated by either power chords or a melodic melody, or both. This is not that whinny pop punk, they kick out the jams releasing anger and tension through loud vocals and loud instruments. Sliding away from the more melodic/sing along style of pop punk, The Vacancies offer a genre that is genuine, creating music that is both identifiable and fresh. The style is fast, sometimes angry, and strips away the basics with intense guitar licks, dead-on bass lines, and top notch vocals. The attitude, music, and the vibe that The Vacancies extrude is real, and definitely worth the price of you putting down your dollars for an outstanding album. "Believe" has that one in a million hit single feel to it ("I don't believe in the new religion, I don't believe in these politicians.../ I Believe in you.../ I believe in my STEREO!" Dang! It's like something The Bouncing Souls should have written! Hey, we all know that if nothing else, your stereo will never let you down (unless on coarse your record player needs a new needle). It's got all the making of a big hit single. The Vacancies (www.thevacancies.com) know how to make a record FEEL. Music should never be too good, too tight. It should excite you. The Vacancies music
is suppose to make you feel good. And I've always had faith that if I feel good, others will too.

- Phil Rainone