THE MOTHER OF MANIA
The first lines uttered on Bought To Rot set a striking tone for the rest of the album. “Learn to trust yourself,” Laura Jane Grace snarls at herself on “China Black”, the opening track on her debut solo LP (released under the moniker of Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers, alongside Against Me! bandmate Atom Willard on drums and longtime collaborator Marc Hudson on bass). “No one else matters! Respect the source, and always welcome failure.”
Their name inspired by the titular book by French feminist artist Niki de Saint Phalle, The Devouring Mothers were born from the rubble of Against Me!’s eight studio album, which was initially set to be released sometime this year. Grace, Willard and Hudson would convene on a regular basis in Grace’s adopted hometown of Chicago, with the intention of writing for guitarist James Bowman and bassist Inge Johansson to buff out the finer details and release Bought To Rot
