Photo Credit by: Raymond Flotat
Florida based punk rock band Against Me!‘s frontwoman Laura Jane Grace has just released the video for her live acoustic performance off the track “333“, from the band’s forthcoming new studio album Shape Shift With Me, the band’s seventh album, which will be released in just two days on September 16th.
This new album is coming after the emotional journey that was Transgender Dysphoria Blues, Laura Jane Grace – Formerly Tom James Gabel – piece about a self-destructive girl in a boy’s body, an album featuring aggressive tracks that cut deep into the listeners soul. Shape Shift With Me will be Grace’s continuation of that journey, and explaining through music what the transition is like to shift from male to female.
Grace recently performed a solo acoustic set for listeners on CBC and played the track “333” of the new album. The video opens up with a introduction and thank you from Grace saying “Really just one of the most magical days I’ve had in… I can’t even remember.” She goes on to explain about how the song came about and where the group was “We woke up in Spain, and went to the Guggenheim… so this song is about falling in love, traveling, seeking the meaning of love, it’s about luck, and it is direct references to the exhibits that where there that day”.
The music then begins and Grace plays the guitar beautifully throughout the entire track, and whilst the accompanying instruments that would normally elevate the track, there does not seem to be a lack of passion emanating from the artist. In fact, without the normal accompaniment that the song usually has, the track has the opportunity to be heard softly, and the description of the song can be heard well enough to put the listener right in the middle of the story.
This new video gives a much more relaxed view as to what Grace produces with her ensemble, and truly see the story telling in the song.