Recommended tracks: Hips Don’t Lie, Feel Good Inc., Young Folks
Artists you may like: underscores, Frost Children, Babymorocco
An electro-hyperpop icon who has collaborated with the likes of Lady Gaga, Charli xcx, 100 gecs and ADÉLA, Dorian Electra exists in a league of their own when it comes to experimentation. Self-titling a covers album ironically reaffirms their singular artistic identity within the increasingly mainstream electronic music space as a genre-bending, boundary-breaking, and cultural commentator.
From remixing canonised dancefloor hits like Gorillaz’s “Feel Good Inc.”, Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie” and No Doubt’s “Hella Good” to unexpected sonic reimaginings of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Enya’s “Caribbean Blue” and Peter Bjorn & John’s “Young Folks,” the self-release LP shows how Dorian’s heaviest, most abrasive synths seamlessly translate onto even folk, country sounds.
The album opens with “Mr. Tambourine Man,” delivered through Dorian’s signature brassy vocals. Co-produced by Frost Children, this rework of Bob Dylan’s folk-rock masterpiece turned club bop builds up to an insanely energetic three-track run from “Hips Don’t Lie,” “Hella Good” to “Feel Good Inc.” By pushing the BPM and intensity of these bangers, Dorian effortlessly brings them from the feels of massive festival stages to sweaty rave basements. It’s easy to imagine these songs sitting alongside the same record as Dorian’s latest original singles, “Fake Denim” and “Shutting Up.”
“Scarborough Fair,” while a mid-tempo track that is unfortunately an abrupt comedown from the high, conveys Dorian’s ambitious creative vision and range. With a toned-down type beat, their standalone autotuned voice becomes a strange, perhaps flattened techno texture rather than an exciting alternative to Simon & Garfunkel’s mystical, ethereal ballad.
“Caribbean Blue,” however, regains momentum and delivers a stronger execution of this specific attempt to electrify slow-dance classics in Dorian Electra. Having the snare kicks mimic Enya’s orchestral vocals is a genius idea that only a cross-genre sound engineer like Dorian could convincingly pull off.
Eminem’s “Without Me,” on the flip side, becomes instantly recognisable and exponentially more danceable through Dorian’s bouncy sped-up synths. Moving from a literal rap song to the even slower, more emotive last bunch of tracks: “The Model,” “Young Folks” and “Bizarre Love Triangle,” although another drop in energy, does not feel too out of place, thanks to the omnipresence of Dorian’s electropop influences. “The Model” arguably has the least personified tune, with Dorian letting most of Kraftwerk’s original electronic drums and keyboard sounds shine through.
Beyond surface-level irony, this unprecedented self-titled covers album is essentially a response to pop and internet culture where, as Dorian shares via their Instagram post on release day, “everything is a remake or a throwback or nostalgia bait and it’s kind of hard to imagine making anything that feels truly ‘new’.” The transitional project before DE5 is the artist’s purposeful “leaning all the way in” into such a creative trap to take the pressure off writing and let them focus on experimenting with sounds and feelings.
Catch Dorian Electra on the road for their 2026 World Tour in Europe, Mexico, and America. Tickets are available here.
May 20, 2026: Warsaw, PL – Klub Hydrozagadka
June 12, 2026: San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
June 13–14, 2026: Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
July 1, 2026: Mons, BE – Sur Mars
July 2, 2026: Caen, FR – Festival Beauregard
Sept 4, 2026: Namur, BE – Les Solidarités
Oct 20, 2026: London, UK – Hootananny Brixton
Oct 22, 2026: Berlin, DE – Kantine am Berghain
Oct 28, 2026: Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
Oct 31, 2026: Vendôme, FR – Rockomotives
Nov 5, 2026: Paris, FR – La Cigale
Nov 12, 2026: Strasbourg, FR – La Laiterie
Nov 16, 2026: Milano, IT – Arci Bellezza
Nov 20, 2026: Bordeaux, FR – Krakatoa
Nov 28, 2026: Lyon, FR – La Rayonne
Dec 16, 2026: Brussels, BE – AB Concerts
