Shape Shift With Me is the seventh studio album from Florida punk rockers Against Me! and their first album since 2014’s Transgender Dysphoria Blues. With this being the second album released by the band since lead singer Laura Jane Grace came out as transsexual, it serves once again as a vehicle to vent frustration, anger and all the things that make punk music great.
This album is full of great musicianship, with special mention to Atom Willard on the drums who’s monstrous on every track. Not content with settling for basic punk tunes, Against Me! seems to have a desire to see how far they can push themselves while still staying true to their core sound. It’s an album you can put on and just listen to, or think about, or dance to or jump around and scream to, it’s punk but with that unmistakeable groove.
Lyrically, Laura Jane Grace is once again in top form. Whilst perhaps not as angry as Transgender Dysphoria Blues, Shape Shift With Me, deals with the same issues but in a more nuanced fashion. Stand out track Boyfriend is a perfect example of just how good a lyricist Grace is, capturing the essence of someone being lied to and used in a relationship perfectly, and all before the first verse is even over.
Shape Shift With Me is a solid album that will keep Against Me! fans happy. It lacks the punch of their previous work but none of the polish and provides a balanced punk album with enough themes and ideas to keep it interesting. Against Me! have been around long enough to be called veterans and this is an album befitting of that moniker, a quality album from a quality band.
BY NATHAN QUATTRUCCI
