I've wanted to hear this album since my friend Ross told me that Tom Gabel came out as transsexual outside of a party in 2012. Truthfully, I didn't believe him when he told me, but he was definitely correct, and now after a few tumultuous years we have what is easily one of the most uncomfortably personal records in not only the history of punk rock but in rock and roll overall. So is it good? That depends. Do you enjoy Against Me's brand of music? If you answered "yes", then fear not, this is one of the best efforts from the group in a long time. Gone are the overproduced major label days under the guidance of Butch Vig, but also absent are the basement punk yearnings that made "Reinventing Axl Rose" a classic of the folk-punk genre, instead we're left somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.
Laura Jane Grace makes her appearance with the same anthemic bravada we've come to love, but the sing along choruses of "New Wave" and the ultra gloss of "White Crosses" have been stripped away, leaving a raw product that gives the group the most "punk" sound they've conjured to date. Seeing that this album was recorded over such a long time with a handful of line up changes it can sometimes have a slightly erratic quality, which would sink other albums, but here helps elevate the alienated and confused feeling of the subject matter. Lines like "You've got no cunt in your strut" from the title track pound the internal pain of being transgendered home and had me cringing from time to time. At no time has Against Me been a band who worked in subtleties: their lyrics have always been direct and unafraid and here the lyrics step right onto center stage. Songs like "Drinking With The Jocks" and "Black Me Out" can at points be hard to listen to and I can imagine that a lot of people would turn away after a glance at the lyric sheet, but that's where the heart of this album is, and whether or not it can be hard to look at is besides the point because it demands you to look.
An album that revels in the idea of "warts and all" though wouldn't be without its fair share of warts. A track like "Unconditional Love" would work better if the vocals didn't try to soar and the chorus wasn't so jarringly stale, and "Dead Friend" similarly suffers from the same issues. Acoustic track "Two Coffins" is functional but anti-climactic and quite honestly feels like the most generic song conceptually.
Out of all the tracks here only about half really hit that sweet spot, but given the motivation and story behind it I can forgive its failings because being allowed in on something so personal is absolutely fascinating and I doubt anyone can hear this album and not be moved at least a few times.
The album's message is what resonates the most and it isn't just for the transgendered community but for all of us. Life can be ugly and most of us will never be happy in our own skins but the struggle is what makes us who we are. It's brave and painful and fun and sad and awkward and tough, just like life.... if life had some beefy guitar parts and catchy choruses.
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