There are not many people that can combine a Gregorian chant with some dubstep production and screaming metal vocals and make it sound fantastic, but Dorian Electra is one of those people. The song in question, “Monk Mode”, has been proclaimed by Dorian as the first song in a new genre named after the song itself. If it all sounds kind of insane and outlandish, that’s because it is. Dorian thrives in these crazy and insane soundscapes while still creating engaging songs, and that’s exactly what they do on My Agenda.
My Agenda shows Dorian moving into a more experimental and rock oriented sound. Their debut album, Flamboyant, radiates these memorable, accessible hyperpop songs that feel almost larger than life. Compared to Flamboyant, My Agenda feels dirty and rough around the edges. Many of the songs don’t even reach two minutes long, and only two reach the three minute threshold, which makes the entire project fly by in a flash.
Dorian tackles many of the same topics on here as they have done before. Themes of toxic masculinity, internet culture, and sexuality flow through each song on here. For example, “Sorry Bro (I Love You)” shows Dorian attempting to normalize people telling their bros that they love them. The video even shows them “crack[ing] open a cold one with their bros”. As with most of Dorian’s music, there are some homoerotic undertones in the lyrics, but still ends with Dorian making fun of toxic masculinity saying “That’s why I’m singin’ man ‘cause I want you to know, bro, no homo.”
The homoerotic undertones come through extremely strong on the multifaceted “Ram It Down”. It makes fun of how Dorian would constantly hear people say that they're fine with LGBTQ+ people, but not to ram it down their throat in public. Dorian, of course, thought the irony in that phrase was hilarious and it makes for a fantastic song. There’s also quite a cast of features for this track; including a verse from Mood Killer, production from hardcore techno artist Lil Texas, and screamed vocals from Lil Mariko, who you may know from the viral parody called “Where’s My Juul??” It makes for quite the thrillride of a song that’s only two and a half minutes long.
But even those features don’t compare to the title track on the record, which features Russian political hip hop group Pussy Riot and The Village People. Yes, The Village People that made “YMCA” over forty years ago are on this track. The song itself is another gargantuan electronic and rock anthem with Dorian taking a tongue-and-cheek approach to people thinking that the LGTBQ+ community has an agenda and is out to get people. Dorian, a part of the community themselves, purposely brings along other members of the community for this track, as both of the groups above have LGBTQ+ members. And as if the irony and humor of the track wasn’t apparent in the first two minutes of the track, the song ends with them poking fun at the infamous Alex Jones quote where he says that they are turning frogs gay, so the song ends with Dorian bringing up that line and then repeatedly saying homosexual over this blown out electronic instrumental.
They also look at traditional gender roles on the dual singles “Gentleman” and “M’Lady”. “Gentleman” pokes fun at the “nice guys” who claim to be gentlemen, people wearing fedoras and constantly keeping their pinky up. They also make fun of incel culture on these songs, as they are people that think they deserve this unreal goddess without doing anything. So Dorian provides the unrealistic attitude on “M’Lady” and even goes so far as to dress up as an elf-like, almost non-human entity in the video just to show how delusional it really is.
Dorian goes at internet trolls later in the album with the banger “Edgelord”. Being a famous gender-fluid person comes with a lot of trolling and hate, so Dorian fires back in language that they can understand, memes. And who else better to bring on a song about internet hate than the infamous “Friday” singer herself, Rebecca Black. While her appearance on the track is pretty short, the symbolism of having her on the song is more than enough for it to work. She does sound really great during her verse and I would be curious to see what she can do with a full project.
There are other songs that are worth mentioning, like the glitzy banger that is “Barbie Boy”. “Iron Fist” and “Give Great Thanks” are both zany tracks that can be read as either political commentary or odes to BDSM. The big theme that comes through this project, and Dorian as an artist, is freedom and authenticity. Even with all of these different sounds and features coming together on one project, it never for one second feels forced or like they are just putting on an image for the music.
Dorian just exudes this feeling of freedom that not many people have. Even when I was lucky enough to see them live earlier this year before coronavirus, there was just this freedom amongst them and their fans that’s never there with other artists. It was just this almost intangible feeling swept over the room before they ever walked on stage. For example, I’ve never had someone talk to me when I’m at a concert by myself, but multiple people initiated conversations with me before Dorian even went on stage. The sense of community and the absolute freedom inside of the community Dorian created allows people to be the truest versions of themselves. That energy carries over to this project and everything that Dorian does, music or otherwise. My Agenda is Dorian at their most free, and hopefully it will inspire many people to be the freest versions of themselves that they can be.
Comments