On her second solo album Laura Jane Grace throws back, looks ahead and reminds us why we should be grateful for the present.
Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace released her solo album, Hole In My Head, earlier this year. A foil to pandemic times Stay Alive, it reaches out with retro tinged punk tunes that catapult her from sounding like Bob Dylan to Joan Jett to Phoebe Bridgers and back again.
Eponymous album opener ‘Hole In My Head’ jangles onto the scene with a Ramones esque riff. One of my favourite things about Grace’s music is no matter how much inspiration she may draw from another musician or band’s sound she always sounds exactly like herself. Catchy melody ripping under the surface of her vocals like a riptide, you almost miss the semi fatalistic (but largely positive) lyrics. ‘I’m Not A Cop’ bursts in with a 50s jukebox groove. The track feels disjointed, with a spoken word section in the middle, which somehow only adds to its appeal. Hole In My Head has a warmth radiating from it that feels equal parts fun and pissed off. On ‘Dysphoria Hoodie’ that warmth comes from a different source. A track about safety and gender affirming comfort, it’s the happy ending to Against Me!’s ‘Transgender Dysphoria Blues’.
‘Birds Talk Too’ and ‘Keep Your Wheels Straight’ pass without much to note. Both feel a bit repetitive to me; although, only one of my headphones works right now so they may be filled with some depth I can’t hear. Sorry.
A “good old days” throw back, ‘Punk Rock in Basements’ is about, well, playing punk rock in basements. I may still be too young to appreciate the romanticism of anyone’s youth. Not that I’m calling Grace old. Sorry. Again.
Creeping up with some killer lines ‘Cuffing Season’ rides the wave of singer songwriter guitar swells. The music doesn’t have to be complex when you’re writing lyrics like “one day I’ll feel good again/ until then, I’ll just white knuckle it”.
‘Tacos & Toast’ feels boygenius adjacent with devastating emotion wrapped in guitar chords and plainly worded epithets that make you thankful to be alive. My favourite line of the album has to be “I think I’ll get a line tattooed through your name/ you will be written as a clear mistake”. However, my favourite track is ‘Mercenary’. Melancholic and teeming with a quiet rage, the song is wrapped in a soft melody and littered with whispered threats. ‘Mercenary’ is the song I still find myself humming days later.
‘Hard Feelings’ pulls off the rare feat of being self pitying and self aware all at once. Album closer ‘Give Up The Ghost’ features Grace’s strongest vocals and most cutting lyrics.
While most of the tracks are spare musically and quite short they still feel fleshed out and full; in large part due to Grace’s warm vocals and nonstop lyrics. The album doesn’t reinvent anything but it does pay homage to folk punk past, present and future. Hole In My Head is witty, melodic and fun without being glib or derivative. In other words, Laura Jane Grace continues to make banging music.
