In addition to petitioning for Operation Ivy to play Riot Fest, Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace has also found time to write and record new music, and she just surprise-released the new seven-song EP “At War with the Silverfish” on Polyvinyl Records. Similar to last year’s “Stay Alive”, it’s a stripped-back solo release that’s largely fuelled by Laura’s acoustic guitar and voice, but there are some other embellishments on there too, like the string-laden “Electro-Static Sweep” and the Strokesy rhythms of “Long Dark Night.” Some songs are fired-up enough to pass for Against Me! songs (“Day Old Coffee”) and others are tender in a Shins-y indie pop way (“Lolo 13”).
The EP was half recorded at Laura’s TinyQuietStudio in Chicago and half at Electric Eel in St. Louis, and mixed by her Devouring Mothers bandmate Marc Hudson. Laura says, “These are songs of late night madness and loneliness, orphan songs that came wandering in looking to feed like insects. I’ve learned that if you share your experience with good intentions that the universe will always surprise you with abundant return. Every song is an act of faith; you don’t necessarily know why you’re singing it other than you know you’ve got to sing it.
The Fat Angel Sings 