Review: Laura Jane Grace – “At War With the Silverfish”

Polyvinyl – 22 SEP 2021

Cranking out yet another solo album, Laura Jane Grace shows that she’s a force to be reckoned with, whether she’s with or without her band.

It’s now been four years since the last time Against Me! put out a new album.  And, if you count her side project, Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers, then Laura Jane Grace’s new EP At War With the Silverfish marks two and a half solo records she’s put out since the last record from Against Me! Grace has made it clear she has no intention of giving up on the band that made her a punk household name, but she seems to have decided that she doesn’t need Against Me! every time she has an idea for a new song, or even a new album, making her even more prolific than she was with her band.  With the title of this EP, she’s wearing her Mountain Goats’ influence on her sleeve a little more than she usually does, and that’s reflected somewhat in the music as well. 

“Three of Hearts” is kind of a Bob Dylan meets the Mountain Goats song with a touch of Against Me! thrown in for good measure.  In fact, the extended metaphor brings to my mind Bob Dylan’s “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.”  “Lolo 13” is my favorite track on the album, a simply exquisite little acoustic pop song about falling in love with a girl in your dreams and the disappointment (and denial) of waking up and realizing she wasn’t real. 

I love the string section that graces “Electro-Static Sweep,” making for some of Grace’s most unusual yet successful instrumentation on a song.  “Day Old Coffee” brings to mind Laura Jane Grace’s Twitter feed, where we see her frequently making jokes about not always making the healthiest decisions, such as drinking microwaved day-old coffee because you just need the kick of caffeine and don’t care where you get it.  Finally the EP closes on “Yesterday, Pt. II” (I have no idea where part one is) which, at under two minutes, manages to create a swirling, magical scene between the music and the lyrics. 

I certainly hope that the new Against Me! album is just around the corner, but in the meantime I’m more than happy to be getting all this great solo material from Laura Jane Grace.  Her solo album Stay Alive was mostly made because Against Me! had to delay their album due to the pandemic, but At War With the Silverfish shows that she’s learned that she can’t be afraid to just pick up the guitar and play some music even when she can’t do it with her band.  It makes me feel confident that, whatever happens with Against Me! going forward, we’ll keep getting more great material from Laura Jane Grace.