Melbourne-based bubblegum-punk duo Cry Club shared a cover of Against Me!
“True Trans Soul Rebel” was originally released on the album “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” by Against Me! in 2014, the first record of the iconic punk outfit released after singer Laura Jane Grace was released as a trans. It’s long since become an anthem for the queercore community, with its punchy and sharp lyrics, heart-wrenching guitars, and Grace’s eruptive vocal prowess, making her an undisputed star in Against Me! catalog.
Cry Club coverage – shared earlier this week in an effort “to celebrate the resilience and strength we see in the [trans and gender-diverse] community every day ”- reverses the script on its stylistic character, with a soundscape instead driven by warm and tangy synths, shimmering touches and clean guitars reminiscent of ’80s pop.
Singer Heather Riley’s honeyed and heartfelt performance (who herself isn’t binary), channels Grace’s standalone bite, albeit with a brighter, more upbeat tone.
Take a look at the cover of the duo “True Trans Soul Rebel” below, then compare it to the original Against Me! :
“Transgender Awareness Week may be over, but trans people aren’t going anywhere anytime soon,” Cry Club said in a caption shared with the cover. “It can be tough, but being trans is beautiful and worth celebrating all year round.”
Cry Club released their debut album, ‘God I’m Such A Mess’, last November via Best & Fairest. Among the singles featured there were “Obvious”, “Nine Of Swords”, “Lighters” and “Dissolve”. The duo have since followed him with a sprawling list of covers, including a recent take of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U”.
Talk to NME Ahead of the album’s release last year, Riley explained how Cry Club serves as an outlet for them to express and actualize their gender expression. “It’s about being able to be who I want to be and the presentation I want to have,” they said. “No one can say to themselves ‘Oh wait, this is really camp’, because we say ‘Yeah, that’s the point’. If you own it and are as fully yourself as you can get. , no one can take it away from you.
NME hailed ‘God I’m such a mess’ as one of his top picks for last November, writer Alex Gallagher saying, “After a slew of buzzy singles, the Melbourne duo’s electrifying debut album cements their status as one of the most exciting, idiosyncratic acts to emerge in recent years.
The last full album from Against Me! was the follow-up record ‘Transgender Dysphoria Blues’, ‘Shape Shift With Me’ in 2016. The band took a hiatus amid the pandemic, Grace released two solo records in as many months: the album “Stay Alive “and the EP” At War With The Silverfish “.
In a four-star review of the latter, NME James McMahon said: “There is an argument to be made that ‘At War With The Silverfish’ is Laura Jane Grace returning to her natural habit.”
