Laura Jane Grace Sings to the Holes in Your Head on ‘Hole in My Head’

Kory Grow
·3 min read
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Laura-Jane-Grace-new-album - Credit: Bella Peterson*
Laura-Jane-Grace-new-album - Credit: Bella Peterson*

Laura Jane Grace makes an appeal to your ears — the two most important holes in your head, at least for her purposes — with the short-and-giddy title track of her upcoming album, Hole in My Head. “You can try to outrun all the pain you come from,” she sings over charging, quarter-note punk-rock chord changes. “That would be a real mistake … I need a hole in my head.” The song follows “Dysphoria Hoodie,” the first single off the album, which will come out Feb. 16.

In the video for “Hole in My Head,” which was directed by Gilbert Trejo (son of Danny), a bored- and boring-looking 9-to-5er ventures into a record store, treats his earholes to some punk rock, and undergoes a Teen Wolf transformation into the person he always wanted to be.

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In addition to singing, Grace recorded guitar and drums for the album, while Drive-By Truckers’ Matt Patton handled the bass. They recorded the album with David Beeman at St. Louis’ Native Sound. “St. Louis really opened its arms to me and I just have such a great time when I’m there,” she said in a statement. “It’s a really special city. To me, it feels like the way every city in America felt when I first started touring in the late Nineties, and this crazy mix of fun and adventure, but danger and possibility.”

Grace will kick off a tour in support of the album next month (including a date in St. Louis) and will stay on the road in the States — with a brief detour to Greece — through March.

Hole in My Head track list:

1. “Hole in My Head”
2. “I’m Not a Cop”
3. “Dysphoria Hoodie”
4. “Birds Talk Too”
5. “Punk Rock in Basements”
6. “Cuffing Season”
7. “Tacos and Toast”
8. “Mercenary”
9. “Keeping Your Wheels Straight”
10. “Hard Feelings”
11. “Give Up the Ghost”

Laura Jane Grace tour dates:

Dec. 16 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall *
Dec. 28 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway **
Dec. 29 – Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre **
Dec. 31 – Denver, CO @ The Marquis **
Jan. 2 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown **
Jan. 3 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cloudland **
Jan. 6 – Madison, WI @ Joey’s Song Benefit
Jan. 13 – Athens, Greece @ Onassis Stegi Exhibition Hall
Jan. 15 – Thessaloniki, Greece @ Mylos
March 2 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue ***
March 3 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar ***
March 5 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall ***
March 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts ***
March 8 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom ***
March 9 – New York, NY @ Racket ***
March 10 – Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre ***
March 12 – Washington, DC @ Howard Theatre ***
March 13 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation 27 ***
March 15 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall ***
March 16 – Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre ***
March 17 – Nashville, TN @ City Winery ***
March 19 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s ***
March 20 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn ***
March 22 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger ***
March 23 – Houston, TX @ RISE Rooftop ***
March 24 – Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips ****

* supporting Lucero
** Mya Byrne supporting
*** Thelma and the Sleaze, Dikembe supporting
**** Dikembe supporting

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