In 2021, Jane Remover released her debut album, “Frailty.” While the hyperpop album did not gain critical success, it displayed the inklings of something more. Each song dealt with issues regarding gender identity, mental illness and related struggles. On Sept. 20, the single “Census Designated” was released, showing a tonal shift compared to her previous projects. While her vocals are still modulated, her sound shifts closer to a shoegaze-pop mix.
Following the hype from the namesake single, Jane Remover released her sophomore album, “Census Designated,” on Oct. 20. The project has a runtime of one hour and 10 minutes and spans over 10 tracks.
“Census Designated” is an emotional and gut-wrenching project from start to finish. Each track covers issues and topics that Jane has personally dealt with. And, while lyrics are generally important in most songs, this is an album where paying close attention to them is crucial.
Opening with “Cage Girl / Camgirl,” she talks about the desire for connection within a relationship. With lyrics such as, “I pick up the pieces and say we’d be good together. I peel my eyes open, everyone knows, and nobody cares,” the song serves as a great introduction to the themes that will be prevalent throughout.
The project closes with “Contingency Song (Album Version).” While less momentous than other tracks such as “Backseat Girl” and “Video,” it works as a great close to the album. It is full of that heavy shoegaze sound, with dissonant vocals, droning and an overall isolating sound. It forgoes ending with a sonic high, and does so rather emotionally with the final line being, “And I can mutter out the words, I don’t think I can do it anymore.”
Overall, “Census Designated” is an emotional rollercoaster of an album and shows significant growth from Jane’s previous work. With the great shoegaze-inspired tone and overtly deep lyrics, you can easily understand and feel what she was going through while writing this album. The only negative to the project is that around the halfway point, the songs start to mesh together due to similar sounds; there is nothing major to really differentiate each track from each other. With such a great second album, it is exciting to think of what is next to come from Jane Remover.
