Against Me! – Shape Shift With Me (Total Treble Music, 2016)
Against Me!’s most recent studio album, Shape Shift With Me, is a true-to-form, punk rock album. The loud drums, screaming vocals, and crazy guitars really take the listener back to pre-New Wave Against Me! with its quality instrumentation. However, the album lacks some of the lyrical depth present in their earlier works. Songs like “White People for Peace” and “High Pressure Low,” focused on politics and were featured on their earlier albums. Those songs, along with their most recent album, Transgender Dysphoria Blues, were far more lyrically interesting than the songs on Shape Shift With Me. Most songs on this album focus on the singer’s disdain for the past, the loss of old love, or budding new ones. And while the songs are still very entertaining, like “Rebecca,” which still has that raw, vocal anger fans have come to expect from Laura Jane Grace, the songs seem to lack a level of depth and “punkness” due to their subject matter.
Rating: 5/10
Trial Track: “Rebecca”
