AGAINST ME!

TRANSGENDER DYSPHORIA BLUES (Total Treble Music)

16/20

“You want them to see you like they see any other girl/They just see a faggot.” It’s a far cry from the anarchic yelps of a discontented young punk with a battered acoustic guitar, but then again we’re not listening to Against Me! as defined by Tom Gabel anymore.

We’re listening to Against Me! as defined by Laura-Jane Grace. The album’s title track couldn’t be more honest if it tried, and in fact that’s what makes it real – Laura isn’t trying. She’s just being Laura. Against Me! might sound more like Bruce Springsteen than they used to and the basements and bookstores Grace once sang about might have turned into the arenas that she once reproached, but what remains is honesty, emotion and personality; an intimate portrait of Grace’s personal transformation.

Drinking With The Jocks is possibly the toughest song they’ve ever written while True Trans Soul Rebel has the rabble rousing capability they’ve captured so flawlessly since those early days. This record ain’t flawless, but that’s not what Against Me! is. Against Me! is about reinventing Axl Rose, not being afraid to be open and being yourself. Reinvent they have. Long live Against Me! Long live Laura-Jane!

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Words: Billy Black