Most Against Me! fans are probably already aware of the lead singer, Laura Jane Grace (previously known as Tom Gabel) and her coming out as transgender. From what I have gathered this is after a lifetime of living a lie as a man, wishing to be a woman. Finally, she came out and is undergoing the process of transition.

This album is not a sigh, but a scream of relief. I have probably never listened to anything in my life that felt so cathartic as this. Laura's voice hasn't changed one iota, and the lyrics and singing style is still completely in-your-face and unapologetic as ever.

Still, it's simply not as good to me as say Reinventing Axel Rose or Total Clarity, or any number of their other albums. I would venture to say this is at the bottom of their discography for me. Part of that is my perception of their sound becoming a little over-produced, almost pop like (which we heard some of on White Crosses) for the style. During recording, the band underwent major changes, for one, losing their longtime bassist. The other thing is that she is singing very passionately about a subject that I simply don't identify with. It makes its way into most of the tracks on this album, and I just wasn't that into it lyrically.

That being said, give a couple tracks a listen yourself and make up your own mind. If you are a man or woman going through the same crisis as Laura, I think you will get a lot more out of this album than I did, and I wish you the best of luck and understanding from your peers. Although it's not my favorite, I believe this was absolutely essential for Laura as an artist, and I'm excited to hear their next release.