Following a massive influx of fans, the expansion of a genre, and newfound critical acclaim, it’s not very common for an artist to redefine themselves under an entirely new genre of music. With “Census Designated,” artist Jane Remover tossed away any chance of a sophomore slump and abandoned the frequently shiny and playful brand of hyper pop she created on her freshman release. Remover took the plunge by completely switching up her sound, and against the odds with no surprise to her fans, she has smashed it.
It’s been nearly two years since Remover released her first album at just 18, “Frailty” which shook up the hyper pop scene and labeled her as an astute genre-blender. In that time, she’s released loads of remixes, developed her many side projects, including the genre-inventing “leroy” with their “dariacore” series, and released a few singles under her primary name.
Listening to her output, it’s clear that Remover views music through a unique lens. She spans the spectrum of music, grabs slices from various ends, and mixes them together effectively. Rarely falling into cliche, her efforts show a certain level of musical intellect.
On Remover’s most recent release, “Census Designated,” her mastery is front and center. She tosses any hints of hyper pop to the wayside, as this new album dives headfirst into shoegaze: a sub-genre of rock known for thick, effect-dripping guitar layers, pounding drums, and buried vocals. This switch was teased by the early release of singles like “Royal Blue Walls” in mid 2022, a segmented guitar-driven epic, and “Contingency Song” later that year, a piece of drone music unlike anything else in her catalog.
The album opens with an extended version of “Cage Girl,” which adds lyrical depth, expands texture on the vocals and instrumentation, and on the whole creates a widened sonic landscape. Juxtaposed with the original release of the song, it makes for one of the most exemplary and perceivable forms of artistic development on the album. The end of the track teases the listener, as a single guitar note swells in the background in shimmering shoegaze bliss, hinting at the climaxes yet to come.
Flowing nicely into the next track “Lips,” tension continues to build from the fairly pleasant introductory piece as the key shifts, but the instrumentation and sonic properties stay largely the same. Over the first three minutes this build is steadily maintained, when suddenly a blaring guitar enters the fray, ushering in the first drums of the album, and the subsequent first true climax. It’s a palpable release, and one which feels well-earned and rewarding.
Further tracks like “Holding a Leech” and “Backseat Girl,” while each containing a fairly powerful climax, provide replayability with more standard verse-chorus layouts, and drums throughout. The refrain on “Holding a Leech” is easily the catchiest run on the album thus far, and it’s punchy climax helps it stand out within the 10 song pack. “Backseat Girl” makes its mark as a 3/4-time banger with a pop chorus, lined with ripping screams and angelic background vocals, which duel with the lead voice for room to breathe.
“Idling Somewhere” puts deeper vocals on display during the initial verse, which are guided by a low rumbling guitar. Both are smashed away by the endlessly catchy chorus, which brings in a higher vocal register, and much more prominent string chords. Across the remaining five minutes, the vocals and instrumentation go through multiple textural shifts, and the progression of the song takes a turn for the mellow. It’s one of the most memorable pieces on the album.
The title track, “Census Designated,” is a fitting centerpiece for the project. When the playful vocals and guitars of the song’s introductory passage come to a head for the chorus, the listener is met with the most impressive instrumental sequences on the album. Endless layers emerge and fade away, mingling with a compelling chorus of vocals from Remover. It blurs the line between destruction and beauty in a synergistic display of auditory polarity. Through its ending passage, the track slowly decays in texture but swells in dynamics, mimicking this symbiotic relationship of sound.
On “Video,” the majority of the eight-minute length is spent giving focus to Remover’s compelling lyrics laid atop simple guitars. For the first handful of minutes, it’s soft, beautiful, and lush with minimalism. At around the three-and-a-half-minute mark, the song reveals to the listener the gentle progression which has been going on the whole time. The song cuts away any development it had built up, returning to the subtle instrumentation of the song’s initial form. At around five and a half minutes, a noise which sounds akin to a scream gets played as an instrument, rising across a scale, giving entrance to the song’s first drums and another wall of guitars. It’s the most satisfying climax of the project, masterfully pieced together and built up to with prowess.
The album version of “Contingency Song” is a haunting piece of drone music, assembled with intricate guitars, clipping pieces of synthesized noise, and disturbing lyrics. The screams present throughout bring the album to a difficult close. I couldn’t imagine a more apt way to end a project as violent, catchy, and heart-wrenching as “Census Designated.”
Played next to her first album, “Frailty,” Remover’s newest project is almost unrecognizable. The only element present in both is her voice, and even that has improved in spades. Her abandonment of the genre which helped her build a name and signature sound, and her subsequent mastery and total understanding of a genre largely opposite in nature, is as good a symbol of artistic progression as you can get. Her subject matter has remained similar, but instead of being displayed through occasionally edgy lyrics, it’s translated through a medium of vague poeticism.
This album shunts the typical path of a new shoegaze artist, swapping oversaturated sound-walls and boring climaxes for interesting song structures, unique progressions and climaxes which feel cathartic and well deserved. “Census Designated” is certainly an adjustment from her previous work, no longer shimmering and glittery, but given room to play out, it’s slow burning fuse shines the Remover name brighter than ever.
Andrew C. Freeman can be reached at [email protected]
