When Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace came out as transgender in 2012, it felt like a radical and important moment for a punk scene that was inching towards staid heritage status. The album that followed her transition, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, was no less striking: a sprawling punk opus that was unflinchingly honest and, surprisingly, a lot of fun.
Following up such a seismic work was always likely to be a challenge and, sensibly, Against Me! have chosen evolution rather than revolution with this, their seventh album. Where TDB was aflush with catharsis and the freedom of Grace feeling truly herself, Shape Shift With Me is her “relationship album”, on which she contends with the complications of her new life. In lesser hands it could come off as all a bit myopic, but Grace’s visceral way with language keeps things moving. On Boyfriend she rails against being treated like “some dumb fucking boyfriend”, while clattering opener ProVision L-3 rails against invasive airport security scanners. As with all of Against Me!’s work, it’s a potent mix of the personal and the political.
