Phillyist Playlist: Girl in a Coma and Miss Derringer at The Khyber

We sort of didn't want to like a band whose name is a blatant rip-off of a Smiths song. Then we slipped Trio B.C. into our CD player and sort of fell in love with Girl in a Coma (MySpace). Following quickly on the heels of the first tejano-inspired guitar notes of "BB," Nina Diaz's soulful voice grabbed us, then proceeded to kick us in the ass on the singalong-worthy "Static Mind." We're not embarrassed to admit we kept pressing repeat when that one came on. And then there's "Baby Boy," which reminded us of something we'd rock out to back in our alt-rock college days. "El Monte" smacks of old-fashioned girl group goodness tinged with a bit of twang, and "In the Day" made us jump up and dance like idiots in our living room.The rest of the album continues in this eclectic vein; each song has a different vibe but every one is worth repeated listens. So we admit it—we were way off base with our initial, superficial assessment of Girl in a Coma. The girls are alright.

By contrast, we were fully prepared to adore Miss Derringer (MySpace), the musical venture of one of our favorite visual artists, Liz McGrath. Winter Hill has been touted as a "punk/new wave/'50s girl group concept album," and that description is just about as accurate as any label one could come up with. We'd throw "rockabilly" into the mix as well, because the album conjures images of greaser boys and pin-up girls tossing back PBRs at a dive bar. "Bulletproof Heart" marries the aforementioned '50s girl group sound with its early-'90s counterpart, while "Black Tears" is pure poodle skirt-era retro. "All the Pretty Things" is the best break up song we've heard in a long, long time: "I hate to love you, and I love to hate you"... but quite honestly, we love to love Miss Derringer.

Check out these two one-of-a-kind bands together at the Khyber, then try to explain them yourself. Go ahead, we dare you...

Girl in a Coma & Miss Derringer
Wednesday, June 17, 8:00 p.m.
The Khyber
Tickets: $8

Images: Girl in a Coma by Adam Stockstill; Miss Derringer by Allen Scott, via MySpace