Laura Jane Grace - Hole In My Head

Five songs into punk royalty Laura Jane Grace’s twelfth studio album (including as frontwoman to Against Me!), she recalls how long it has been since playing punk rock in basements. “We were loud, we were proud, we were freaking out,” she reminisces. It’s a poignant moment on a record that captures her scene’s raw magic while simultaneously brimming with nostalgia. At once, ‘Hole In My Head’ harks back to a punk heyday and celebrates its power today. The intimacy of those basements remains the album’s obvious lifeblood. Collaborating with Matt Patton of Drive By Truckers, ‘Hole In My Head’ plays out like a jam session the listener is wholeheartedly invited to. There’s something inherently welcoming in the short, sharp, and lyrically open songs, as Laura looks both inwards and outwards at her identity, her chosen music, and her vices. Each track unfolds with an ease only reserved for somebody with so much skin in the game.