15 Greatest Rock Concept Albums From The Last 15 Years

6. Against Me! - Searching For A Former Clarity

While the idea behind the band's recent Transgender Dysphoria Blues is ostensibly about the difficulties Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace had in transitioning to a female, Grace is quick to sidestep any assertion that it's a true concept record. (She decided to make the themes more universal in the end.) But for the band's final album on an indie label, Grace decided to write a concept album about the eventual fallout the band figured to experience once they moved over to major label Sire Records. But rather than approach the idea literally, she decided to write it as if she was dying. It resulted in an intense, punchy farewell to more than just their supposed indie cred. The album features more sing-along choruses and peppier melodies than any of their previous offerings, but they certainly didn't tone the aggression one bit. "Mediocrity Gets You Pears (The Shaker)" is the most straightforward of the bunch, with Grace repeating all the criticisms that had already started to come their way. She takes this semi-fictional representation of her band through the ringer for the better part of 45 minutes, imagining the cocaine abuse and abusive relationships that were to follow from their sudden windfall of popularity and cash. Ironically, lead-off single "Don't Lose Touch" actually did gain them sudden fame in the mainstream rock scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2VWGbPMhxs