10 Legendary Concept Records Of The 2010's

At the start of the 2010's, the entire lineup of Against Me was starting to change drastically. After the success of albums like New Wave, Thomas Gabel was beginning his process of gender transition, going under intense scrutiny from the punk community and even his own bandmates before becoming Laura Jane Grace. Any transition like this is bound to be messy in some spots, and Laura held nothing when it came time to putting it in her songs.

Across just a half hour, Laura gave us a clear picture of what it's like having to deal with this kind of pressure weighing on you, and it's not pretty by any stretch. For as triumphant as the title track might sound, you can hear the raw anger in her voice, as she gets judged by people who just see her as a freak, not taking the time to look at the humanity going on behind her transition. In between songs like Black Me Out though, there's the spirit of punk rock that keeps pushing her to keep going in the face of everyone trying to shun her.

For all of the messiness that might be on this album, Laura never comes off as someone who's insecure about her place in the world anymore. She knows the kind of person that she wants to be, and this album is spitting back in the faces of everyone who doubted her, and that's probably the most punk rock statement that she could have ever made.