Jane Remover, Mother of Dariacore and a genre-bending musician, just released her second studio album (not including her Dariacore alias) “Census Designated” as a follow-up to her previous album “Frailty,” which was released in 2021. Before being known as Jane Remover, she gained a reputation as an extremely talented Hyperpop producer named “DLTZK,” with her breakout song “Homeswitcher (feat. Kmoe)” and her popular SoundCloud remixes. Her sound switched up majorly when “Frailty” came out, going for a darker, more ambient sound with hyperpop elements incorporated into the tracks. This can also be heard on “Census Designated,” but leaning towards acoustic elements rather than anarchic production. So how did the album turn out?
“Cage Girl / Cam Girl” is a haunting start to the album. With an eerie intro and slow, grungy guitar, the song creates a depressing ambience. This song’s lyrics hit on another level of sadness, describing Removers’s neglectful partner leaving her behind. The lines “Chew me up, spit me out before you can swallow,” and “I peel my eyes open, everyone knows / And nobody cares” really stand out to me, especially the latter. The chilling image of opening yourself up to an intense situation you’re in, exposing your vulnerability for everyone to know, and Remover’s sentiment that “nobody cares,” really hits hard. I love that the one-chord progression continues throughout the song but stays fresh by using different production elements to keep the listener entertained. Overall, a super unique and heartfelt song. 9/10.
When giving this album a first listen, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Remover’s voice, but it started to grow on me as I listened to “Lips.” The song has an amazing instrumental, progressing from calm and composed throughout the first half, into an intense, grungy chorus. Similar to “Cage Girl,” it keeps the same chord progression throughout the entire song, while staying fresh through unique production. I loved the glitchy, eerie transition from calm to chaotic as well. Props to Remover for maintaining a good mix with how much was happening towards the end. I adored the lyrics on this song, with lines like “Teeth stained yellow / For a glass love, so hard,” and “Back into the matchbox, you see him smoking my name,” as well as “Take a knife up to the belly, slide it up to where he kissed me / The blood dries overnight and I wake up feeling fine.” This song is about her depression in a relationship with repetitive cycles of abuse. Almost all of the lines pack a punch of emotion, highlighting her feelings and revealing her mindset. I loved this track. 10/10.
“Fling” has an interesting intro that I’m not sure how to feel about; it transitions well into the song, but the chaotic chopped-up breakcore drums were a bit too much for me. However the instrumental, oh my lord, is it amazing. The intro guitar progression was lackluster, but the chorus hits like a truck. Crazy guitars, heavy drums, and a chaotic yet tamed mix sets “Fling” apart from the previous two songs. The lyrics are so full of emotion, especially in the chorus: “I swear to God, give me a reason to be out my mind / Tell me I’m good, I’m a good girl / And if I fall, don’t ask me whether or not you’ll be at the bottom / Tell me I’m good, I’m a good girl.” The chorus brings to light the cycle of abuse she’s under in her current relationship. Every single line in this song adds meaning to the overall story of this album, with no fillers in sight. Again, I loved this song. 9/10.
“Holding a Leech” is another masterpiece of songwriting. Though less lyrically filled, it accounts for one of the best instrumentals on the album. I’m a sucker for chord progressions like the kind in the song, especially with the atmospheric, slow pacing of it. Even the intro of this song is part of the storytelling. A tweaked-out flatline plays, and a fade-out rushes you into the guitars, showing how she’s mentally dying in her relationship. The lyrics highlight how she desperately wants to end her relationship, but can’t bring herself to do it due to her trauma bond. The line “You want me ‘til I’m sick on the floor / I’m in hysterics, throwing up ‘I love you, please don’t leave, I can fix it” is particularly powerful. It shows how she’s being roped back into her abusive relationship, convinced that her partner will change when they will not. This song is within the top three on the album for me. Every detail is perfect, and I can’t stop listening to it. 10/10.
Though I’m not the biggest fan of the chord progression in “Backseat Girl,” the drums are truly amazing. Following the format of calm to chaos, with hyper distortion mixed onto the drums, I found myself falling in love with everything about this masterpiece of a track. Controlled chaos is my favorite thing in music, and this track executes it flawlessly. The lyricism in this song was flawless as well, with lines like “I let you drive ‘cause I’m a backseat girl,” which shows how she feels she’s lost all control of her relationship. Aside from the chord progressions, this track is close to perfect. I’m going to give it an 8.5/10.
“Idling Somewhere” might be my favorite song on the album. Stripes, also known as Jake Tromberly, an up-and-coming Future Bounce producer from the East Coast, agrees. “Mainly because of how the song incorporates a lot of energy in general, plus parts with chaotic nature,” Tromberly says. This song executes chaos better than any other track on the album. The progression was perfect, and every aspect of the instrumental was superb. The lyrics were outstanding too, maybe lacking in depth compared to others on this album, but still solid. Overall, this song is definitely a 10/10.
“Always Have Always Will” has the most ambient instrumental on the album. I love that she used a heavily reverberated guitar, and looped a vocal run for the intro, super unique. The chord progression was also pretty different compared to other songs on this project, which was very refreshing. However, the mix on the drums when they came in at two minutes and forty-two seconds was not great. They cluttered the low end of the mix, which was at times off-putting. The song redeemed itself when the ending chorus came in. I also really liked the lines “How filthy can I get before you rip me from your chest?” These creative lyrics show how Remover feels she needs to become awful for her partner to leave her. Overall, this is probably my least favorite song on the album, but I still really enjoyed it. 8/10.
“Census Designated,” the lead single off the project, is truly perfect. The controlled mayhem on this track rivals “Idling Somewhere,” with its faultless mixing and its perfect progression. I loved her vocal chops right before the first chorus hit as well. After I first heard this song premiere, my jaw dropped at how perfect the entire song was. I had goosebumps after the first few seconds, and still do every time I put it on. My one gripe is that Remover’s vocals should be mixed ever so slightly louder because it’s hard to tell what she’s saying most of the time. But again, the instrumental makes up for it. I also really liked the lyric she threw in at the end of the song, referencing her inspiration for the album: “A blimp soaring across the United States / And it can’t find me / Rotting in the middle of Oregon.” Not only is the house on the album cover from Gilliam County, Oregon, but Remover has stated in interviews that the album was inspired by a near-death experience in John Day, Oregon. Overall, I would give this song a 10/10, a masterpiece.
“Video” is hard to put into words. It’s a long song, but it has so much depth. It has probably the most absurd intro on the album, with engines roaring, guitars going crazy, and a resonator on everything as well. Despite this, it faded well into the rest of the instrumental. I like how little is going on throughout most of the track; it’s a break from the constant chaos of the rest of the album. But my four minutes of peace were swiftly interrupted by the most heavy-hitting drop on this entire album. The progression left me in near tears, covered in goosebumps and in complete shock. I loved Remover’s scream when it first hit, too. The power of this song and its lyrics make it my second favorite. If it wasn’t for the length of almost nine minutes, it would be my number one. I’m going to give it a 10/10.
“Contingency Song” reminded me of Quadeca’s “I Didn’t Mean To Haunt You” from the formatting and the way it was mixed. I loved the ambience on this track, the complete and utter chaos coated in reverb, and the constant vocal runs. It’s by far the most fitting song to end this album. The ending lyrics to this song were perfect, with the lines “I shoved enough food in my mouth / And I can mutter out the words, ‘I don’t think I can do it anymore,’” showing her end to the abusive relationship she was stuck in. Everything about this outro to the album is perfect, and I can’t get enough of it. 10/10.
Overall this album was perfect. Although I had a few small issues with some of the tracks, they’re completely overshadowed by the amazing production and beautiful yet haunting storytelling. I hadn’t been completely covered in goosebumps throughout the entirety of an album in a long time, but after a couple of listens, this has become one of my favorite projects of all time. I’m going to give it a final score of 10/10, a masterpiece.
