Census Designated, A Review
Hello, you are beginning to read my very biased review of Jane Remover’s sophomore album Census Designated. I discovered this album while shuffling through my Spotify and it was like finding a diamond in Minecraft. I consider listening it before reading my review so you can form your own opinion or close this vlog due to my trash music taste. Whichever way you swing, thanks for taking the time to read.
Artist Overview
Jane Remover’s work embodies constant reinvention, both musically and personally. They first emerged in the late 2010s under various aliases (most notably dltzk), crafting hyper-energetic EDM and digicore tracks rooted in the SoundCloud scene. Early releases like Teen Week (2021) channeled hyperpop’s maximalism, melding glitchy synths, emotional vocals, and internet-native production techniques that resonated deeply with Gen Z listeners navigating online identity.
As their sound matured, Jane grew restless with the boundaries of hyperpop and began experimenting with denser, more textured production. They pioneered the microgenre dariacore, a frenetic, collage-like style blending pop culture samples, drum breaks, and irony-laced energy under the alias leroy. But where dariacore thrived on chaos, Jane Remover’s later work sought emotional clarity and cohesion.
With their debut full-length Frailty (2021), Jane began fusing introspective songwriting with digital noise, expressing themes of alienation, adolescence, and transformation. By the time of Census Designated (2023), their sound had evolved toward shoegaze, emo, and post-rock, embracing analog warmth and intricate guitar work while preserving the experimental DNA of their electronic roots. Critics praised this shift as a bold maturation, a move from digital maximalism to emotional maximalism.
Jane’s artistic identity is inseparable from their exploration of self. Their music reflects a constant process of transitioning, adapting, and redefining both sound and self in public. The decision to retire the dltzk moniker and adopt the name Jane Remover in 2022 marked not just a stylistic pivot but a declaration of personal authenticity. Themes of identity, memory, and rebirth thread through their lyrics and visuals, translating lived experience into evolving soundscapes.
Ultimately, Jane Remover stands as a voice for a generation of artists shaped by the internet but unbound by it , using technology, DIY production, and emotional vulnerability to build something raw, genre-defying, and profoundly human.
Personal Thoughts
From my personal experience with the album, it is the most midwest sounding set of sounds I’ve ever heard. Although I don’t have much experience with the genre, this album is the culmination of what I think it is. It’s probably the hazy guitar that happens to haunt every track, absence of drums, and slow rumbling lyrics that characterize the entirety of the album for me. It’s like a slight mix of Jane’s other side project, Venturing, with their current production.
It’s really a magical album that everyone should listen to at least once. However, one criticism I do have about the album is that some of the songs sound pretty similar. I feel this way about Idling Somewhere and Lips the most. The songs on this album are also loooonggg, like I mean 6 minutes long, but they are so cinematic you don’t really notice most of the time. To an outside listener I feel like the sounds present throughout this album would turn someone off. But I am not one of those people!!!! However, the standouts on the album for me would have to be Backseat Girl and Video.
Personal Ranking
- Census Designated
- Video
- Backseat Girl
- Fling
- Idling Somewhere
- Cage Girl/ Cam Girl
- Holding a Leech
- Lips
- Always Have Always Will
- Contingency Song
Overall Ranking
I am a huge Jane Remover fan, I saw her live and it was the best experience of my life. However, im a bigger reviewer and I would probably give this album an 8/10. The sound is very experimental already but again a lot of the songs share the same motif and sound. The deluxe version of the album fixes this but it should be able to stand alone.
