IN REVIEW: Against Me! - "Transgender Dysphoria Blues"

An album review is supposed to focus on the music, and ignore the surrounding chatter. However, it simply can't be done with an album such as Transgender Dysphoria Blues; the surrounding chatter is the basis for the album. So yes, let's get it out of the way: Tom Gabel came out as Laura Jane Grace in 2012, and has been undergoing a medically assisted gender transition since. That said, Against Me!'s sixth album sees the "debut" of Laura on record.

"Let's get it out of the way" seems to be Grace's motto on the album as well; the album's opener (the title track) most explicitly references her life and the issues that have arisen since making her decision public. And explicit it is, with Grace spitting venom at those who pass judgment on the subject without so much as asking questions. Her assertion is jarring in its bluntness, with lines like "they just see a faggot" and "you've got no cunt in your strut, you've got no ass to shake". Its language, as vulgar as it is, does the job of drawing attention to the song's message.

All told, however, the subject matter that has everyone talking about Transgender Dysphoria Blues isn't nearly as all-consuming as one might assume. Still, it's hard not to look for bread crumbs through the entirety of the tracklist (especially given its one time rumoured status as a conceptual double album). Aside from the opening pair of tracks (the title track and True Trans Soul Rebel), there's the cheeky, sarcastic meathead-baiting of Drinking With The Jocks, and a few passing references sprinkled here and there. So no, it's not all as upfront as it is on the first two tracks.

Which allows me to finally focus on the music, which sees Against Me! expanding their sound yet again. While making a slow evolution from unhinged punks to accomplished rock songsmiths, Against Me! refined their sound, bustling with energy but a keen eye for hooks. In places, Transgender Dysphoria Blues feels woefully average; as fun as it is to smirk at the piss-taking Drinking With The Jocks, it reveals itself on multiple listens as a pretty standard, repetitive blast of punk fury. It and Two Coffins, a sparse acoustic number that just kind of plods along and kills the album's momentum eight tracks in, both do the job as songs but feel a little undercooked in the album's context.

It's a petty bone to pick, as there's nothing really wrong with those songs; it's just that there's so much right on so many others. Unconditional Love is a new look for Against Me!, a charging seventies FM rocker that sort of sounds like Green Day through an early era Queen filter that impossibly works. Fuckmylife666 is one of modern history's most shining examples of matching a radio-proof title with a song that's screaming to be played on the radio (and possibly the most familiar sounding song on the album). And it's followed by Dead Friend, maybe the sunniest song ever sung about a corpse outside of emo (I don't know that I want to actually research that).

Then, there's Osama bin Laden As The Crucified Christ, which nothing Against Me! has done before will prepare you for. It's a monstrous, sinister cacophony of sound that gives new drummer Atom Willard a chance to really beat the shit out of the drums, as the rest of the band does its best impression of The Offspring doing their best impression of Black Sabbath. I don't know how it works so well, either. It catches you off guard the first time you hear it, and pummels you into submission as you repeat it five more times in a row (that's what it did to me, anyway; results may vary). It's the arguable highlight of the album.

The reason it's an "arguable" highlight and not undisputed is the presence of closing track Black Me Out, a vicious yet inviting slab of perfectly executed rock that reads as a kiss off to former label Sire (who had a falling out with the band when they dropped the ball on promoting White Crosses). It's a song that's been around since Laura was Tom, but I'm glad it was included here because it deserves to be heard, adored, and cussed along by fans at shows at the top of their lungs.

It's a little difficult to gauge exactly where Against Me! is headed from here; as mentioned, the songs that weren't written before the transition began were written during it. As such, Transgender Dysphoria Blues isn't an album about womanhood, but rather approaching it; it's confrontational yet vulnerable, profane yet considerate, harsh yet inviting. More so, it's a bold, courageous statement made by an artist discovering her true self. In the grand scheme, it may not be remembered as Against Me!'s best album, but it's damn sure their most essential.

January 21, 2014 • Total Treble

Highlights Osama Bin Laden As the Crucified Christ • Fuckmylife666 • Black Me Out