Dollface

The standard edition album cover.

***Dollface*** is the first studio album by American singer Beau Howard. It was released on September 15, 2023, by Tomorrow Records. Recording for the album began shortly after Howard was signed to the label in December 2022, though many of the lyrics were written in 2021. Howard described *Dollface* as a "poetic story of life as a gay trans man," basing most of the songs off of his personal struggles. He stated that "Dollface" was a persona of his struggles, exaggerated and romanticized.

"Playing House" was released as the lead single from *Dollface* on January 14, 2023, and was a critical success and peaking at number 21 on the *Billboard* Hot 100. The second single, "My Valentine ft. GRAVES," was released a month later on February 25, reaching number 15 in the US. "Boy Next Door" was the third single, preceding the announcement of the album on May 19. It was the highest charting single, reaching number 7 in the US. "High" was released as single the day the album was released, peaking at number 11 in the US. "Cheater" and "Highlight" were promotional singles for the album.

A deluxe edition of the album was released on January 13, 2024, with "Former Hopeless Romantic" being released its lead single.

Howard embarked on his first headlining concert tour, *Dollface North America Tour,* followed by *Dollface Europe Tour.*

## Background

Development of *Dollface* began right after Howard signed to Tomorrow Records in December 2022, though many of the lyrics had been written by Howard during the previous year. The theme and the concept of the album changed several times, including different titles. It began as a avant garde themed album titled *Overture,* then shifted gear towards a more "childish, innocent" aesthetic. Before *Dollface,* it was titled *Real Boy,* inspired by the story of Pinocchio.

Andrew Archer established himself as the producer early into the production, but some sources state that GRAVES was slated to be the producer very early on. GRAVES did end up co-writing some of the new songs for the album, and contributed a lot to the music writing.

## Conception

Howard described *Dollface* as a story album, telling the story of a character named "Dollface." He stated that Dollface was merely a projection of all of his struggles with "dysphoria, depression, anxiety, BPD, and neurodivergency" along with his struggles in his sex, love, and family life. When asked about the inspiration for the album, he responded:

> Dollface is less of a character, and more of a side of myself I am not proud of. He makes the mistakes I make, often at others' expense. He faces the struggles I do, and responds to them in ways that are not healthy. He copes with his life with sex and loveless relationships in an attempt to fill the void in his heart. He is a poetic portrayl of the dark parts of my mind and soul, although romanticized and exaggerated.
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The album's themes revolve around sex, innocence, depression, and relationships. The aesthetic is derived from Victorian porcelain dolls and more modern fashion dolls, such as *Barbie* and *Ken.*

## Recording

Andrew Archer composed and produced all of the songs on the album, with the help of other, lesser known producers such as GRAVES. Archer stated that while he wanted the album to be "mainstream enough to be a financial hit," Howard had the blunt of creative control. He stated that he wanted "trap-like beats" with a "child-like twist," along with a few "dance-inspired" tracks.

Archer wanted GRAVES and Howard to work together, believing the two were "good matches" for each other. They ended up writing one song together, "My Valentine." GRAVES also helped translate Howard's lyrics and poems into songs.

## Tracklist

**Total duration: 53:03**

**Total duration: 70:36**