After the depiction of toxic masculinity on Flamboyant (2019) and the parodic, conspiracist gay agenda on My Agenda (2020), Dorian Electra returns with their own Fanfare, a rock opera that affirms their project as a challenging blender of pop formulas and diverse, glitchy electronic textures. Fanfare’s epicness bursts out of impressive sonic collages, encompassing Dorian’s multifaceted persona. They embody a series of caricatures and jokes that abound cinematic sounds specific to loud, buoyant, and federating music: a whip, horns, breaking glass, tap dancing, drums, bells… to maximizing effect. With this flighty, ceremonial panoply, Dorian wanted to « juxtaposes genres and sounds that aren’t meant to be together », to seek an element of surprise and « blend humor and seriousness to keep stimulated in the studio » they told in their RA’s exchange https://ra.co/exchange/695 three month among the album release. Fanfare encapsulates a lot of the recognizable effects pop music has that are amazingly communicative and that can make you smile, or want you to go hard. Queering the folk qualities of the fanfare might have been Dorian’s aim, which they successfully did with the first two singles- and bangers Freak Mode and Sodom & Gomorrah. The former is an alien hard rock song inhabited by an outcast contemplating the « normies in the dungeon going freak mode », with a tongue in the cheek typical dude energy; while the other is a slutty dance dopamin charged track, paying homage to the cities that « got nasty » and where people went « through the back door ». With its metal infused bridge, it makes Sodom & Gomorrah all the more explosive and one of Fanfare’s definite highlights. Amidst of the storm Puppet is a Beethoven themed ritournelle in which Dorian embodies someone who might have stockholm syndrome while their strings get cut. Quickly, bass and metallic sounds get all warped and distorted, and the piano gets disturbingly percussive and dissonant. It’s the best moments of Fanfare, when the music uses melodic motifs and repetition to make this alienating feeling of submissiveness linger. But repetitive choruses don’t get to work all the way through. Some, unfortunately, get used after two or three listens, and have less impact than others, like on Manmade Horrors or Touch Grass-even when all the efforts are put into them to make their sound variate. It may be Fanfare’s downfall in the second part of the album – among the need for effective choruses, it can feel a bit all over the place while it tends to find its structure. Yet, the generous playfulness of the record keeps you entertained until the very end. Its genre-bending ease and sonic pasture, which was built by a dedicated group of producers: among Clarence Clarity, Cecile Believe, Weston Allen and Casey MQ, is clearly worth noting. « Yes Man » , « Warning Signs », also finds Dorian in more melo, introspective verses which make the record breathe a little out of the organized chaos. The richness of it derives from Dorian’s ability to endorse plenty of characters and tones that are exhilarating. One overshadows the others though : their personification of the egocentric cis dude that infuses their music since Flamboyant. Behind all the masks and fun, a subliminal awareness is at stake in Fanfare – whether it is dropping the word « ecocide » (Touch Grass), giving a sexy response to queerphobia (S&G) or reflecting on a generation that venerates stars and influencers in the midst of unbridled capitalism (Wanna be A Star). The ugliness and the absurd nature of capitalism and tourism culture are portrayed in Sodom & Gomorrah video, where a souvenir shop is dedicated to the two evil cities. Some of the items are now merch on sale on Dorian’s website. You won’t be able to buy a « che gueverra shirt from Zara on sale » (cf. Manmade Horrors lyrics), but you can get a Dorian Guevarra shirt, or a musical genius shirt, among other Fanfare goodies. Into this comic musical, Dorian asks pop culture: who are we venerating? Do we want to stick to the habitus of fascination for a disposable, mostly online digital world? In treating some of the cringiest themes, Dorian succeeds remarkably in making the full array of Fanfare worthwhile demonstrating the real benefits of clanging, screaming pop tracks. Shit is real Dorian claims, but we – the freaks, the queers – are still owed a fucking party.
Charles Wesley 