Laura Jane Grace and The Devouring Mothers’ Killer New Album

On their 14-track debut album, Bought to Rot, Laura Jane Grace and The Devouring Mothers come out swinging, this time with less anarchism and more realism.

Released in the shadow of Grace’s infamy as the lead of Against Me!, Bought to Rot is nothing short of exceptional, as we are shown a new insight into the songwriter’s personal life. Starting off with “China Beach,” the listener is thrown in without warning, completely at the mercy of Grace’s vocal prowess. While audibly one of the most explosive tracks on the record, others with a more melodic disposition— such as “The Airplane Song,” “The Apology Song” and “The Hotel Song”— are some of the major standouts on Bought to Rot. It is this diversity in sound that gives the record the versatility to push the bounds of both punk and rock, leaving something for everyone to enjoy and even more to discover.

For this project, Grace has delivered on her signature lyrical savagery, at times reminiscent of a Patti Smith track in it’s story-like qualities. Most prominent on songs like “I Hate Chicago,” “Manic Depression” and “The Friendship Song,” Grace’s vocals are the main feature— and what you hear is what you get. There are no hidden meanings, no cryptic word play to make the listener search for the emotion behind the song. It’s also with this no-bullshit approach that Grace captures so many different topics, ranging from complicated romances (“The Airplane Song”), to dealing with societal construct of self-identity (“Reality Bites”), to satirical odes to metropolitan cities (“I Hate Chicago”).

The versatility and flexibility of this record can, in part, be attributed to Grace’s love and idolization of Tom Petty’s solo debut, Full Moon Fever. Both artists leave nothing off the table, always speaking and embodying their truth as they’ve seen it no matter the opinion of anyone else.

Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers is comprised of frontwoman, guitarist, as well as author and trans activist, Laura Jane Grace, drummer Atom Willard, and bassist Marc Jacob Hudson. Grace and Willard hail from the Floridian punk band Against Me!, while Hudson previously worked with them as their sound engineer.

The trio will be heading out on their 2019 headline tour this spring, accompanied by opening acts Mercy Union and Control Top. Spanning across the United States and Canada for 29 total shows, the tour will kick off on March 14th and 15th in Austin, TX at the SXSW Music Festival and finish off on April 28th in Nashville, TN at Basement Top.