Against Me! : Transgender Dysphoria Blues

I finally have time to write a bit about some new albums (Hydra's review is coming soon too!). I admit that as much of a Rise Against-fan I am, I'm not that well-versed in punk rock as some other genres. I always, always say I'm not a musical critic in the slightest, so any of this should be taken as a highly subjective, personal opinion.

As a quick attempt at (yet again) making excuses for myself: it's also pretty subjective what I consider 'proper punk'. Old punk music is angry and jumbled and a musical mess. I'm forever a fan of The Clash, but I have to admit I like contemporary music a bit better. That might be because I'm a sad excuse of a rebellious soul and I like when my music sounds nice. I never claimed to be a 'punk at heart' or anything like that, I'm well aware I'm not. That being said, I do not consider bands like Green Day or The Offspring really punk (okay, I do classify them as 'punk rock' in my iTunes library, but - oh, see? what kind of punk would have iTunes?). Rise Against passes, even if it is 'more pop' - seriously, those punk elitist should reconsider saying things like that, because a) what's wrong with being more pop and what's with the permanent stigma of pop music in these people's eyes? and b) nothing is pop to which my mother says 'what is this noise?'.

Against Me! is something like my fourth-fifth favourite 'punk rock' band, the category applied generously according to my standards (it would be something like Rise Against - The Offspring -  Anti-Flag - Green Day/Against Me!). That being said, I really, really liked their new album - it has a sound very similar to their old (not yet major label) albums.

The whole album is a bit disoriented, but very, very personal with an anxious anger in it, and the way it is so in your face makes it impossible not to get your feelings affected. The songwriting of Laura Jane Grace is still not the best, but there's always this very genuine (and punk) atmosphere to these kind of lyrics. The first two songs, Transgender Dysphoria Blues and True Trans Soul Rebel are absolutely perfect - and it's absolutely great to hear punk songs like this, a genre which always struck me as a bit misogynistic (hello Offspring). She is truly a fantastic person.

FuckMyLife666 is also great (in addition to having a hilarious title), adequately angry, albeit still a bit more pessimistic than I'd like (well, Against Me! and punk rock in general was never about optimism though). I feel like the few songs which are not about her feelings or thoughts on the transgender issue are somehow a lot weaker, and made a lot less impact on me - though I admit I am always a bit more concerned about social issues and less with politics and the like. However, I do like Two Coffins - it's such a sad, beautiful song! I also like Paralytic States, if I were the one who decided on track order, I would have put this at the last place - the feeling is similar to the best songs on the album, and summarizes the theme while at the same time tells a story. (That, and I don't like the actual last track that much.)

Overall I'm really satisfied with the album, and since there are supposedly a lot of great ones coming this year, my expectations are by no means low as of now.

I'm off to give Hydra a thorough listen! Stay tuned.