Laura Jane Grace sings every lyric on Against Me!'s new album Transgender Dysphoria Blues as though it would have been physically painful if she couldn't get the thought out of her head. And maybe that's true: Against Me! has been around for over a decade, but this is the first record she's ever made as an out trans woman. Grace has always specialized in writing cathartic music, but her new songs go much further. They are brutally frank about living with the agony of dysphoria, and of coming out to a world that is largely transphobic, where even well-meaning people can be deeply clueless about how to deal with your very existence. It's an unrelentingly intense set of songs, and some of the most vital and relevant rock music to come out in years.

A lot of the power of the record comes from how Grace sings specifically about trans experiences — trying to pass despite knowing her "tells are so obvious," ambivalence about undergoing plastic surgery, being haunted by dysphoria even after transition — but places her emphasis on emotions underlying it all that are relatable to most anyone who's struggled with body issues or felt like an outcast. She makes her experience seem universal and sympathetic without abstracting or compromising anything. "We want to be subversive, especially knowing that a good portion of our audience aren't trans or haven't ever been exposed to those issues, or it might make them uncomfortable," she explained in a recent interview with Grantland. "Dealing with depression is really what a lot of that's about. On the surface level, the album may be transgender-themed, but underneath it, there are those universal themes — alienation, depression, not being happy — that I think that everybody can really identify with."