Transgender Dysphoria Blues

Transgender Dysphoria Blues is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band Against Me!, released on January 21, 2014 by Total Treble Music and Xtra Mile Recordings. The album deals with gender dysphoria, following Laura Jane Grace's gender transition and coming out.^[7][8]

Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Studio album by Against Me!
Released	January 21, 2014[1]
Recorded	Total Treble Studios, Elkton, Florida Studio 606, Los Angeles, California Earthsound Recording, Valdosta, GA Motor Studios, San Francisco, CA
Genre	Punk rock punk metal[2] melodic punk[3] arena rock[4] rock n roll[5] glam punk[6]
Length	28:43
Label	Total Treble, Xtra Mile
Producer	Laura Jane Grace
Against Me! chronology
Black Crosses (2011) Transgender Dysphoria Blues (2014) 23 Live Sex Acts (2015)
Singles from Transgender Dysphoria Blues
"True Trans" Released: July 12, 2013 "Unconditional Love" Released: May 26, 2014 "Osama bin Laden as the Crucified Christ" Released: April 18, 2015
Alternate cover
Censored version

Recording and production

The band first announced work on a new album in November 2011.^[9] The first sessions for the album were a false start, where the band started recording some basic tracks and then went on tour, and decided to scrap and start over when they got back from tour. Then, the record was completely recorded except for vocals when drummer Jay Weinberg quit the band. The band first tried to have fill-in drummer Atom Willard record drum tracks to match the previously recorded tracks, but it wasn't working.^[10] Starting from scratch, the band began recording the album a final time at Studio 606 in February 2013.^[11] In May 2013, long-time bassist Andrew Seward also left the band.^[12] A month later, Fat Mike of NOFX joined the band in the studio,^[13] playing on three songs, two of which appear on the album. That same month, tracking for the album was completed.^[14]

Commercial performance

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at No. 23, their highest debut yet on the chart.^[15] It also debuted at No. 6 on Top Rock Albums,^[16] with 10,000 copies sold in its first week. It has sold 45,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.^[17]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.8/10[18]
Metacritic	82/100[19]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
The A.V. Club	B+[20]
Chicago Tribune	[21]
Entertainment Weekly	B[22]
The Guardian	[23]
NME	7/10[24]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[6]
Q	[25]
Rolling Stone	[2]
Spin	8/10[26]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Transgender Dysphoria Blues received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from 28 critic scores.^[19] In his review for Now Magazine, Joshua Kloke described the record as having "career-defining clarity" and "increased confidence," writing that "Grace looks inward and employs conviction unheard since their 2002 debut, Reinventing Axl Rose."^[27] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone rated the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, and called it "A series of bracing songs about a self-destructive girl in a boy's body, it's a thematic offspring of Lou Reed (see Berlin, etc.)", and noted how "it takes balls to come out this way, in this genre" wishing Laura "God-speed, sister."^[2] Also, Hermes said that the album musically "sticks to the band's established brand of warrior-cry punk metal", and this "limits the range of what might be an ever braver new world, one glimpsed on the softer acoustic 'Two Coffins.'"^[2] Dan Weiss of Spin called the album "one of the most fascinating records of the year," rating it eight out of ten.^[28]

In 2019, Loudwire ranked the album 23 in their "66 best rock albums of the decade."^[29]

Accolades

Year-end rankings

Publication	Rank	List
American Songwriter	20	Top 50 Albums of 2014[30]
Consequence of Sound	6	Top 50 Albums of 2014[31]
Noisey	2	Top 25 Albums of 2014[32]
PopMatters	6	The 80 Best Albums of 2014[33]
Rolling Stone	15	50 Best Albums of 2014[34]
Spin	14	50 Best Albums of 2014[35]
Stereogum	14	The 50 Best Albums of 2014[36]
TIME	7	Top 10 Best Albums of 2014[37]
The Village Voice	10	Pazz+Jop Albums of 2014[38]

Decade-end rankings

Publication	Rank	List
Billboard	90	100 Best Albums of the 2010s[39]
BrooklynVegan	11	100 Best Punk & Emo Albums of the 2010s[40]
	29	141 Best Albums of the 2010s[41]
Cleveland.com	76	100 greatest albums of the 2010s[42]
Consequence of Sound	22	The 100 Top Albums of the 2010s[43]
Kerrang!	5	The 75 Best Albums Of The 2010s[44]
Loudwire	23	The 66 Best Rock Albums of the 2010s[45]
Paste	4	The 40 Best Punk Albums of the 2010s[46]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Transgender Dysphoria Blues" (often erroneously titled "Talking Transgender Dysphoria Blues")	3:16
2.	"True Trans Soul Rebel"	3:12
3.	"Unconditional Love"	2:51
4.	"Drinking with the Jocks"	1:48
5.	"Osama bin Laden as the Crucified Christ"	2:57
6.	"FUCKMYLIFE666"	2:56
7.	"Dead Friend"	3:02
8.	"Two Coffins"	2:20
9.	"Paralytic States" (also known as "Paralytic States of Dependency"[47])	3:12
10.	"Black Me Out"	3:09
Total length:		28:43

All tracks are written by Laura Jane Grace

Personnel

Band

• Laura Jane Grace – lead vocals, guitar, bass (except for 2 tracks), art direction, producer
• James Bowman – guitar, backing vocals
• Atom Willard – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Fat Mike – bass (tracks 3, 6)

Production and design

• Billy Bush – recording engineer
• Steak Mtn – design, typography, and illustration

Charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[48]	89
US Billboard 200[49]	23
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[50]	2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[51]	6
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[52]	2

References

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