The album is as direct, gritty, and forceful as its cover. (Photo via againstme.net)

A controversial way to start the new year in music, “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” from Floridian punk band Against Me! is blunt, emotional, raw, and powerful – a nearly perfect punk album.

The band’s first album since singer Laura Jane Grace came out as a transgender woman in 2012, “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” explores (as the title directly suggests) the difficulties in dealing with gender dysphoria.

While LGBT themes are not traditional topics for punk music, Against Me!’s new album embodies the true punk spirit better than any other “punk” album released in recent years.

That is not to say that other modern punk is unsatisfactory – 2013’s emo/post-punk resurgence heralded a new wave of Jimmy Eat World-style jams that angst-riddled people everywhere missed.

Furthermore, FIDLAR’s long-awaited self-titled debut studio release in January of last year was a gritty, lo-fi, garage rock/surf punk masterpiece that glorified the traditional mantra of sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll.

But what is punk about reviving old styles of rock or perpetuating stereotypes of the genre? Punk music is about underscoring society’s errors and protecting self-expression  – both of which are essential to “Transgender Dysphoria Blues.” 

On the album’s title track, driven by a powerful snare drum backbone, she reproaches society for its inability to accept her as a normal girl in the chorus: “You want them to notice you / Like they see any other girl / They just see a faggot.”

Yet, in addition to rather blunt lyrics, many of the song titles alone, namely “F***MyLife666” and “Osama Bin Laden as the Crucified Christ” illustrate Laura’s anger and angst.

Alternatively, on the surprisingly upbeat track “Paralytic States,” Laura’s honest introspection allows her to express her struggles in transitioning to transgender life, proclaiming that she was “never quite the woman that she wanted to be” and that she can only achieve a “f***ed up kind of feminine.”

Furthermore, on “Drinking with the Jocks,” the highest energy song of the album, Laura yells – and quite skillfully –that she always secretly wished to be a girl.

Of course, accompanying the impassioned and frank lyrics and song titles, the music simply rocks. Both “Unconditional Love” and the first single off the album, “True Trans Soul Rebel,” produce a Social Distortion-esque Southern rock/punk sound with powerful guitar melodies driving the songs. 

Furthermore, Laura Jane Grace’s vocal range shines on the album. Alongside the songs in which she adopts a more traditional punk, almost yelling singing style, on “Dead Friend” and “Black Me Out,” she employs a more natural, unaffected style that highlights the clarity of her voice. Likewise, her singing dominates “Two Coffins,” an acoustic tune that hearkens back to Against Me!’s roots. 

Energetic, powerful, honest, “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” is a sonically varied album that is more than entertainment – it is punk gold. 

Read more of NT's album reviews here.