Laura Jane Grace & The Mississippi Medicals – Give an Inch

Give an Inch is the first EP by Laura Jane Grace & The Mississippi Medicals. I’ve never listened to much of Laura’s previous solo project Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers- not for any lack of want, but because my cup has been overflowing with the many many brilliant Against Me! albums that I didn’t think I needed more LJG at the time. 

I was lucky enough to catch 3 sets by LJG at this years Sing Us Home festival and hearing the poignant ‘All Fucked Out’ was more than enough to convince me to give the new EP a listen on its release. “Not to be confused with all fucked up” was the introduction Laura gave before launching into the folk punk banger about having no fucks left to give. “I’m all fucked out of the real thing | Dry like bread, stale and crispy | I’ve got just the ends left.” Is how the song both starts and finishes and really tells you all you need to know, the tune is super catchy, kind of fun but also relatable in a post-covid world where it can be hard to really give a fuck about certain things that used to seem so important. 

This may be the first review in which I’ve ever got stuck into song 3 before touching on 1 and 2, so let’s rewind. The EP starts with “RazorBlade Blues” which is firmly in the country-punk genre; it’s got a different sound to LGJ’s earlier solo works which I think justifies the new supporting band The Mississippi Medicals. The song is an incredibly strong opener for the EP and stays with me as my favourite track, is firmly about finding the person that makes you happy and sticking with them, presumably written for Laura’s wife Paris who is also in the band. I could just about cut and paste the whole song into this review but in the interest of time some favourite lyrics below to give an overview of the song:

“The first thing I do when I get home from the road is throw away that box of razor blades”

“Box of 10 three-quarter-inch industrial strength razor blades | that’s not the type of metal you use for shaving legs”

“Then I threw away those oxy pills that I kept as my backup plan […] I do not regret the action” 

“now babe I’ll give you some credit and I’ll take some credit too | no you didn’t make me do it but you made me want to”

Up second is “Hoka, Hoka – One One”, a solid song about being a runner, but this review is getting long so I’ll skip straight ahead to tracks 5 and 6, the end of the EP. ‘Fuck You Just Because’ is a cathartic anthem that will have you singing along in no time to lyrics like “yeah, fuck you just because | fuck you and them and everyone | fuck your party, fuck your scene | fuck your friends, fuck your family”. The catchy, up beat and bouncy music continues into the final song on the album “M*A*S*H” – no it doesn’t seem to link back in any way to the 70’s sitcom of the same name, but rather is a folksy song fantasising suicide. Along side the sung lyrics “have you had any suicidal thoughts today, yes I’ve had about 7 or 8”, are 60’s commercial-style interruptions like “hey kids, do you hate Christmas parties and long lines at the grocery store? well have I got the solution for you!” And disclaimers such as “side effects of killing yourself may include not being able to work again | not having to interact with friends and family | burning in hell, bloating | involuntary bowel release […]” clearly this is a satirical juxtaposition to the first song on the album ‘RazorBlade Blues’ and it’s delivered to great success. 

At this point we can’t overlook the carnival-vibe of the last 2 songs on the album and how this matches absolutely perfectly with the moving image on the b-side of the 12” vinyl they sit on. Yes, I said moving image, the vinyl has a printed zoetrope image on both sides with the a-side showing the album title appearing to move in different directions, along with a very impressive image of the skull on the album artwork liking the ice-cream cone it is eating. More visually impressive is the b-side with the carnival-feeling songs and the imagery to match; it includes balloons in the inner of the record with then a ring of laughing clowns before the outside having clowns holding balloons with their hats and balloons moving up and down. It is an absolute treat, my first zoetrope record and potentially the start of an expensive addiction. You can catch the animation on my Instagram here. 

This is almost certainly my longest review of an EP ever but who cares, it’s great and I wanted to write about it. Go listen to it and if you like what you hear treat yourself to the zoetrope record. 

4.5/5

Matt Power
3 October 2024