Whether you’ve followed since last year or just recently caught up, the story of Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace has been incredible to watch, and probably the most punk-rock story in the new millennium. In case you’ve been on a months-long fishing trip over the course of the press cycle behind Transgender Dysphoria Blues, Grace (formerly Thomas Gabel) revealed that she was set to transition from male to female last May in a tell-all Rolling Stone feature. And as much of a shock as it was in the punk community to see Grace—her first printed appearance showed her cross-legged and freshly showered, sporting a towel over shaved legs and another drying her hair—it’s exactly the kind of move that punk rock itself (well, a perfect vision of it) should be there to support.
Sure, looking from the outside in, it can be a violent form of expression. Fans of Gabel could have told you that—one of the rowdiest, sweatiest, testosterone-pumping, politically charged (and most fun) displays of the craft that I’ve caught was Against Me!’s opening set for Mastodon at Detroit’s State Theater in 2007, which saw the entire floor erupting in some entrancing wave of slam-dance meets real-dance meets group-sing-along-camaraderie. But punk’s dirt-and-grit, mostly open-armed ethos also make it a really beautiful movement, which at its best is tailored to express (and embrace) the individual. Well, here’s a woman who’s being herself instead of just wrapping on the standard-issue studded belts and leather boots.
Grace could have stopped commenting on her change with that feature article, sure. With a piece out that answers many people’s big questions in detail (will Grace stay with her family? Will she sound like Tom Gabel behind the microphone?), Grace almost could have left it right there and churned out any Against Me! album she wanted. Instead, we’re gifted with Transgender Dysphoria Blues, a damn-personal burst of razor-sharp anthems that tackle the topic head on. Grace clears the air with the subtlety of a wrecking ball on the title track, one that still summons a grin from me on repeated listens; and at a lean 29 minutes, we’re talking 20+ spins here easy, which will only grow in the next few months.
Take a quick listen to the first track if you can, and although it’s a song that’s direct enough that little dissection is necessary, these parts hit me the hardest:
You want them to notice
The ragged ends of your summer dress
You want them to see you like they see any other girl
They just see a faggot
They hold their breath not to catch the sick