Over the last few years pop songs have shortened, curtailed by the whims of streaming services and algorithms. It’s a trend that gender-fluid alt-pop experimentalist Dorian Electra clearly revels in, with most of the songs on My Agenda – the frenetic follow-up to last year’s decadent, gloriously OTT debut, Flamboyant – clocking in around the two-minute mark. As on their debut, however, Electra uses the time wisely, cramming myriad guests (the Horrors’ Faris Badwan, Friday hitmaker Rebecca Black, the Village People, plus many many others) into songs that veer between punk, hardcore and pummelling electro-pop.
As with Flamboyant, Electra digs into notions of masculinity and queerness, but this time they uncover murkier territory. Aggressive opener F the World skews the loneliness of “incels”, while Ram It Down fuses lyrics about latent homophobia with twisted, steroid-injected happy hardcore. Even the pure pop high of the PC Music-esque Barbie Boy is rooted in ideas around physical perfection.
While there are moments when things buckle under the weight of experimentation – Monk Mode is a terrifying metal cacophony in search of a tune – My Agenda is further proof of Electra’s ability to make thought-provoking protest pop that sounds like a proper riot.
