Punk trailblazer and queer icon Laura Jane Grace released a new single today called “Dysphoria Hoodie” via Polyvinyl Records. Grace’s band Against Me! quietly went on hiatus in 2020, but Grace didn’t confirm this until 2022. Since the hiatus, she’s been focusing on her solo work, having released her solo album Stay Alive in 2020 and her solo EP At War With the Silverfish in 2021. “Dysphoria Hoodie” marks the first single off of her yet-to-be-titled upcoming album.
“This is a song about gender dysphoria and your favorite hooded sweatshirt,” Grace explains about the new single. “Any trans person out there knows what a dysphoria hoodie is—It’s the hoodie you wear when feeling low and dysphoric and you don’t want the world reading your gender. Hide your body shape; hide your head; disappear as much as you can. Wrap yourself up in it like a blanket anywhere you go. Make your flesh become cotton. Instant protection from the outside world. My dysphoria hoodie happens to be an Adidas hoodie, so yes, this is in fact really just a tribute song to my favorite Adidas hoodie.”
Along with the track, Grace released an animated video to go with it. You can check it out below:
In addition to the song, Grace announced some new tour dates. Alongside her already-announced appearance at FEST and on Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog Cruise, Grace will also be doing a series of tour dates through the midwest in the fall and winter with acclaimed singer/songwriter Mya Byrne, including a New Years Eve show at the Marquis in Denver, Colorado. Check out the full list of tour dates below:
October
29 — Gainesville, FL — The FEST (Vivid Music Hall)
November
08—13 — Miami, FL — Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog Cruise
December
28 — St. Louis, MO — Off Broadway
29 — Lawrence, KS — Granada Theatre
31 — Denver, CO — The Marquis
January 2024
02 — Omaha, NE — Slowdown
03 — Minneapolis, MN — Cloudland
06 — Madison, WI — Joey’s Song Benefit
Grace will also be given the key to the City of Gainsville, Florida at FEST, which is pretty ironic considering Grace is a transgender anarchist, and the state of Florida is becoming one of the most oppressive places for trans people in the United States. “Full on totally flipping ridiculous. I’m grateful to the point of near embarrassment,” says Grace about the announcement on her Twitter page.
There’s no official release date or title for the new album yet, so make sure to keep an eye on Laura Jane Grace on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for future updates.
