Under the Gun Review

REVIEW: Against Me! – ‘Transgender Dysphoria Blues’

January 21st, 2014 John Bazley

Artist: Against Me!
Album: Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Genre: Punk

By all accounts, 2013 was a rough year for Against Me!. Aside from the occasional acoustic performance of new material here and there, the future of the band seemed uncertain at best. Longtime bassist Andrew Seward bowed out of the band after the announcement of drummer Jay Weinberg’s departure, the band was forced to drop off a national tour with Bad Religion, and while it seemed like we knew just about everything about the band’s new album, it never materialized. Also, in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past eighteen months or so, Against Me! went through a huge change in 2012 when the artist formerly known as Tom Gabel announced her transition into Laura Jane Grace.

The result of this struggle is Transgender Dysphoria Blues, the band’s long awaited sixth album and their first since Laura’s transition. To clear the air, the album exceeds expectations in just about every regard. Transgender Dysphoria Blues resides in the upper echelon, if not the top, of the band’s discography. As Laura screams “You want them to notice the ragged ends of your summer dress/you want them to see you like they see every other girl/they just see a faggot/they hold their breath not to catch the sick,” in the title track and opener, it becomes evident that the record is unsettling in the best way possible; Laura addresses her personal struggle with her transition head-on, leaving very little to the imagination and creating an aura of “right on” empowerment. The record nearly plays out as a narrative on Laura’s struggle with gender dysphoria.

Don’t be misled; Transgender Dysphoria Blues is an Against Me! album through and through. One look at track titles like “Osama Bin Laden As The Crucified Christ” and “FUCKMYLIFE666” will confirm that, and hopefully bring in the crowd that were swayed by the confusingly glossy (yet criminally underrated) White Crosses. While Laura’s personal struggle does dominate the lyrical content of the record, classic political jabs in “Osama…” and remarks on the corrupted music industry in “Black Me Out” prove that this isn’t a reimagined or reborn version of Against Me!. While it’s not as raw as the band’s earliest work, the record falls somewhere around As The Eternal Cowboy on the “How Punk Is It?” scale and is written in the undeniable Against Me! style.

My only complaint about the album is the length. While a 29 minute runtime isn’t necessarily detrimental in its own right, there is very little to be discovered here. Hardcore fans have already heard an acoustic version of “True Trans Soul Rebel” from this summer’s True Trans EP, as well as album versions of “FUCKMYLIFE666” and “Black Me Out” as pre-release singles. Most of the album has been played live in the past two years as well. However, these are the definitive versions of these tracks and the album must be taken in as a whole. Given the painfully long wait for some kind of new music, I just wish there was more. Really, it’s that good.

The record is as honest as it gets and is as empowering as it is emotional. This will be the record that Against Me! will be remembered by, and rightfully so. After the shaky reception to White Crosses, Against Me! needed a record this good to stay relevant in the ever-changing landscape of punk rock and without a doubt, Transgender Dysphoria Blues will cement their status as legends in the scene. I believe that Transgender Dysphoria Blues is the definitive Against Me! record and without question sets the bar high for punk music in 2014.

SCORE: 9.8/10
Review written by: John Bazley — (Follow him on Twitter)

Stream the whole album at NPR.

John Bazley
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