Dorian Electra -- My Agenda: Review

Dorian Electra -- My Agenda

[self-released]

Following the charismatic PC debut Flamboyant, Dorian Electra established themself as a pop prodigy to be reckoned with. The record’s nuanced social commentary on toxic masculinity and its deadpan tongue-and-cheek humor instantly brought Dorian to the mainstream of the experimental pop community. Having amassed a loyal and demanding audience just from the debut, Dorian started work on their second project set to top the grandeur of Flamboyant and then some.

My Agenda released on October 16, 2020, self-released by Dorian who delivers more dynamics than the last record in an even shorter runtime. The album includes more artist features than it has songs, with appearances from Village People, The Garden, Pussy Riot, and Rebecca Black and contributions from Rina Sawayama collaborator Clarence Clarity and 100 gecs’ very own Dylan Brady. For a tight 25 minutes, this record is absolutely stacked and plays around plenty of unique sounds in its 11 song tracklist all surrounding one consistent theme.

My Agenda is Dorian Electra’s character study on the fedora-tipping, blade-studying, neckbearded, edgelord and that archetype’s place in modern society and the internet landscape. Each song of this record explores a different aspect of the character’s mind, digging into the edgelord’s views on love, politics, and, of course, society. The brilliant choice of using this unique, dynamic character as the topic for My Agenda allows Dorian to flex their muscles in noisey production and gripping humor like no project of theirs before, holding some of the funniest and most fun songs of 2020.

It kicks off with “F The World”, the incel anthem in which our main character proclaims their disdain for the world and their rejection against them. The chorus bounces over this kinetic eurodance beat with Dorian’s autotuned vocals that remind me of “Caramelldansen” (what? is it just me?). The fiery Garden verse and the masochistic Quay Dash breakdown both add a lot of depth to the song, tacking on more spice into this character’s manifesto.

The title track is a representation of the main character’s perception of the left and specifically the LGBTQ+ community. This song features this dark brooding bassline and walls of dubstep as well as a strained verse from Russia’s revolutionary Pussy Riot and the f*****g Village People (yes, the ‘YMCA’ Village people!). The antagonistic portrayal of the LGBTQ+ community’s spooky “pamphlets” and “blogs” as well as the “turning frogs homosexual” outro makes the song hilarious and brings you deeper into the main character’s mind.

“Gentleman” and “M’lady” are a 1-2 gut punch at antiquated heteronormativity in gender standards and roles. While the rockin’ “Gentleman” mocks the goofy chivalrous attitudes of incels, “M’lady” mocks the comical gender standards incels have for women. Both songs feature dimensional pop leads, the former’s being its swaggering saxophone line and the latter’s being its aspirated noisey bass subs.

“Barbie Boy” and “Sorry Bro (I Love You)” are the only two real offshoots from the theme, but are by no means distracting, celebrating more healthy views of masculinity. With “Barbie Boy”, Dorian set out to make their genderbend take of the Aqua hit “Barbie Girl”, blended with beaming synths and dark glitchy atmosphere. “Sorry Bro (I Love You)” is a comical take on bromance, even within toxic masculinity. This song manages to feel expansive and dynamic in just a minute and a half, standing as an exemplary display of Dorian’s brilliant song writing.

After the short explosive interlude “Monk Mode” comes my favorite song here “Edgelord” featuring Rebecca Black. In just two minutes Dorian seems to jam in a song of dynamic songwriting and some of the funniest lyrics I’ve heard all year. Dorian’s verse is just pure gold, starting with:

We live in a society

That's always lashing out at guys like me

They pushed me to the edge, you see

Never, never, never gonna come down

One question, why so serious?

Did I offend you? I'm so curious

Ha, my identity’s mysterious

Never, never, nevеr gonna come down

Often one of the goofiest aspects of this incel character is their phony sense of badassery they get for saying needlessly offensive things and “Edgelord” song perfectly captures it. It just so happens that it’s also incredibly catchy, features a badass Rebecca Black verse, and has a hilarious music video where Black and Dorian are dressed as Harley Quinn and the Joker respectively.

As the record comes to a close, “Ram It Down” challenges the absurd assertions from the alt right that the LGBTQ+ community is too obnoxious about their deserved freedoms to love who they want and that they should stop ‘ramming it down’ their throats. This song features some of the sharpest commentary on the record while balancing between being pop metal, eurodance, and dubstep simultaneously.

Dorian Electra returns with more of their eccentric creativity and more humor than ever on My Agenda, a goofy, playful collection of PC bangers that is oddly topical in all the right ways.

RIYL: Charli XCX, 100 gecs, Rina Sawayama

Listen To: “Edgelord Ft. Rebecca Black”, “Gentleman / M’lady”