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Census Designated
Studio album by Jane Remover
Released	October 20, 2023 (2023-10-20)
Recorded	February 4, 2022 – July 22, 2023
Studio	Studio North (Philadelphia) Remover's house (New Jersey)
Genre	Shoegaze post-rock
Length	61:30
Label	DeadAir
Producer	Jane Remover
Jane Remover chronology
Frailty (2021) Census Designated (2023) Ghostholding (2025)
Singles from Census Designated
"Cage Girl" Released: June 27, 2022 "Contingency Song" Released: November 16, 2022 "Lips" Released: August 23, 2023 "Census Designated" Released: September 20, 2023

Census Designated is the second studio album by the American musician Jane Remover. It was released by DeadAir Records on October 20, 2023, as the follow up to her debut album Frailty (2021). She came out as a trans woman changed her stage name the following year as she worked on Census Designated. The material on the album was inspired by an incident where she almost died while on a road trip through a blizzard, as well as horror movies. It was written in a variety of locations, including her house, school, and on the road while touring with Brakence. Going through numerous revisions, the tracks were recorded in both Remover's house in New Jersey and at Studio North in Philadelphia; the album was entirely produced by Remover herself.

Census Designated is a shoegaze and post-rock concept album that takes place over the course of one night, from sunset to dusk. It presents Auto-Tuned vocals that address themes of desperation, isolation, and rejection. She wanted to distance herself from the labels that were given to her previous work; specifically the term "Internet music". Its artwork was photographed by Brendon Burton, and was chosen as the cover art to represent Census Designated's overarching coming-of-age theme. It was promoted with four singles and a tour across North America with Quannnic. It received positive reviews from publications; Paste and Pitchfork included the single "Census Designated" in their best songs of the year lists. The album charted on the North American College and Community Radio Chart (NACC).

Background

Jane Remover released her debut studio album Frailty in November 2021, to positive reviews from Pitchfork, Paste, and Anthony Fantano. It was generally described as being digicore, hyperpop, emo, and EDM, as well as a variety of other genres. When she first started releasing music, she had always wanted to change her sound and "work towards the goal of being a jack-of-all-trades". During June 2022, she released the singles "Royal Blue Walls" and "Cage Girl" and came out as a trans woman, changing her stage name to Jane Remover; Census Designated is the first album that was released under the name. During 2022, she toured the United States with Brakence in support of his Hypochondriac Tour.

Development

Writing

Due to Remover recording Frailty in her childhood bedroom in New Jersey, the state inspired a lot of material that was on the album. Alternatively, Census Designated was inspired by a self-described "near-death experience" Remover went through while on a cross-country road trip through a blizzard. She was travelling to Seattle late at night, but the snow became unbearable and she had to make a pit stop in John Day, Oregon. She said it felt like a "reality check" that made her "want to stop ruining things for ". She wrote some of the songs at her house, at school, and while being on the road as she was on tour. Speaking about the album's visuals, she commented: "I kind of just had this idea of an empty plane, and dilapidated houses and just like decay and nothing." The ideas for the album's imagery came to her when she first started working on the album musically.

The songs on Census Designated went through numerous revisions. They were written about things Remover was afraid of happening instead of things that actually occurred in real life. Remover shared that while work on the album progressed, she felt the need "to make something else, to make something better" with each successive track that was recorded. The track "Lips" served as "a skeleton key for the rest of the album in both mood and sound", as Remover became obsessed with the climax of the song, and thought: "I can find a way to build a whole universe out of this." She wanted everyone to interpret the lyrics differently, as she thought with the use of body horror imagery, she could keep the lyrics vague and abstract. She was also interested in watching horror movies while creating the album; such as the dreadful suburban life and grotesque love showcased in Cutting Moments (1997) while writing "Lips". When writing "Backseat Girl", she had not cried in a while and a memory ran through her head "of standing next to someone who was crying during a show", leading her to feel inconvenienced, which inspired the song.

Production

Census Designated was recorded in both Remover's house in New Jersey and at Studio North in Philadelphia, from February 4, 2022, to July 22, 2023. It was entirely produced by Remover. Following the release of Frailty, Remover felt conflicted over the vocal performances included on the album; criticism directed at the album's recording quality prompted her to " and clean ... up in all aspects" while working on Census Designated. In an interview with Stereogum, Remover shared that she re-recorded the track "Lips" roughly 100 times because she was unsatisfied with each vocal take, and this desire to continually re-record the song persisted into the album's mixing stage. During the mixing process, Remover oversaw this aspect of the production in-person to ensure that it was "as perfect as it be" before the album was released. After hearing her music being played at a venue, it gave insight into how to make and mix her music in the future.

On Census Designated, Remover wanted to distance herself from the labels that were given to her previous work, specifically the term "Internet music". With the album, she said that she "kind of found the lane that to stay in", commenting on her production style. When speaking about genre, she believed that there is not a lane. Remover cited the music of the American singer-songwriter Ethel Cain, namely her album Preacher's Daughter (2022), as another source of inspiration for material included on Census Designated. The song "Cage Girl", which Remover revealed was originally "a demo that made in an hour" for a creative writing class in 2022, is a favorite of Cain's.

Composition

Overview

Census Designated is primarily a shoegaze and post-rock album that has also been described as bedroom pop, experimental rock, and noise rock. It is over an hour long and all of the tracks run for more than four and a half minutes, with most lasting up to six minutes. The second half of the album is largely based on nightmares Remover feared would materialize in her own life, and the tracks "Census Designated", "Video", and "Contingency Song" are told from the perspective of being in a relationship. It presents Auto-Tuned vocals that address themes of desperation, isolation, and rejection. Emma Madden of Them described the lyrics as "rich with half-vague, half-precise poetry" and thought Remover's guitar tone "holds both a sense of terror and beauty". Spencer Nafekh-Blanchette from Exclaim! called Census Designated "a new chapter in Remover's experimental production" and commented on how Remover delivers droning sounds that, though are noisy, are more calm compared to her previous music. For Pitchfork, Kieran Press-Reynolds commented that moments on the album shift abruptly from calm to intense bursts of sounds. He further questioned, because Remover has experimented with drum and bass, ambient, glitch rap, and Jersey club, "why would she choose fiery avant-rock as a primary vehicle?".

Census Designated is a concept album that takes place over the course of one night. Its story begins at sunset and is "guided by Jane Remover's streams of consciousness", and ends at dusk. According to Paste's Madelyn Dawson, "its 10 tracks span over an hour of deliberate buildups, frenetic breakdowns and visceral, wry lyricism". It incorporates organic and live instrumentation. Ian Cohen from Stereogum said the album explores the darker edges of rock music. The Guardian's Ben Beaumont-Thomas compared her vocals to that pop K-pop and Europop singers, and mentioned that she reinvigorates guitar sounds by layering them with static and subtle noise elements. Madden proposed that the album should be listened to "just past sundown, when there's a brief and lonely pause in space and time and it feels like you are the only person experiencing reality". Press-Reynolds also mentioned how after each loud noise, there is a calm moment that follows.

Songs

Census Designated's opening track is "Cage Girl / Camgirl", a bedroom pop and drone track with begins with a buzzing and throaty croaking sound that goes into a backing guitar that builds into a crescendo. The guitars are "detuned to a death metal gurgle" and it feels cinematic and fictional, according to Cohen. It is followed by four post-rock tracks; "Lips" is also an indie ballad that begin with gentle vocals that discuss the unpredictability of young love, and being someone's "nervous wreck". Its looping guitar strumming fizzles out until the track becomes distorted with drums that reaches a climax of purging noise. Press-Reynolds perceived it as a comination My Bloody Valentine between Fatal Attraction (2023). "Fling" starts out with rough static that transitions into a gentler soundscape. Fantano described it as having "super righteous riffs" and "screaming walls of distorted chords laced with some glossy vocal harmonies" and "stuttering noise". "Holding a Leech" is also a shoegaze track that increasingly intensifies as it picks up in pace. "Backseat Girl" is about how Remover felt like she ignored others' feelings, even when she's aware of her own.

With "Idling Somewhere", its loud moments and "destructive" feedback were described as "more punishing than harsh noise albums" by Fantano. Ondarock's Michael Corrado wrote that Remover "goes wild with lacerating screamo" on the track. The shoegaze "Always Have Always Will" begins with an "ahhh" sound that was described as extending like an infinity mirror by Press-Reynolds. It is a softer and more apologetic track that climaxes with a rush of static; according to Press-Reynolds, it feels more joyful than sorrowful compared to the album's other songs. "Census Designated" deals with struggling with the present and being anxious about what is next in her life. The track is written about being afraid of being lied to and being used because of Remover's age, and it also mentions numerous mental states and different geographic locations. She also sings about liking the idea of being "young blood, fresh meat", and the track sonically ends with chaos and noise. For Pitchfork, Hattie Lindert believed that it had a more minimalist sound when compared to Frailty. Fantano called it "one of the most multifaceted songs" on the album, and that it "hits some epic and noisy highs". The penultimate track "Video" tells the story of a woman who becomes infatuated with a man she watched touch himself online, before he exploits her when the two finally meet outside of the Internet. Its guitar strums for six minutes until the track burst with a powerful scream. The final track, "Contingency Song", contains dissonant drones, and Press-Reynolds described it as having a "sparse winter horizon" and that "you can almost feel the chill of its malign fog".

Artwork

The album's artwork was shot by the American photographer Brendon Burton, and depicts Remover standing alone in a field with her back towards the camera as she faces the remnants of a dilapidated house. Speaking with Them, Remover commented that she chose this picture to serve as the cover art because it represents Census Designated's overarching coming-of-age theme. When Madden proposed that the empty house featured prominently in the image might embody emotions related to "feeling further away from home", Remover welcomed the idea and expressed her intention for "a lot of the material on this album to be up for interpretation". Though, she commented that the suggestion "wasn't what was going for" personally.

Promotion and release

In preparation of Census Designated's release, Remover posted images to her social media that consisted of her standing in places such as empty wheat fields, in front of bare buildings, and outside a window in a deserted landscape. "Cage Girl", which serves as the first half of the album's opening track, was initially released as a demo on SoundCloud in April 2022 before being officially released alongside the non-album single "Royal Blue Walls" on June 27, 2022. "Contingency Song" was released as the album's second single on November 16; the album features an alternate version of the song. "Lips" was announced alongside the album itself and released as the third single on August 23, 2023. The album's title track, "Census Designated", was released as the fourth and final single on September 20. It was accompanied by the first-ever music video from Remover, directed by Quadeca. Census Designated was released by DeadAir Records on October 20, 2023, on digital, CD, and LP formats. It was leaked in Japan days before its release; in response, Remover shared that she has become accustomed to her music leaking prematurely after experiencing her previous projects, Teen Week and Frailty (both 2021), being spread online before their respective release dates. On October 31, 2023, Remover announced that she would be co-headlining the Designated Dreams Tour with Quannnic, throughout February 2024. The tour saw the two artists travel across the United States to perform a total of 12 shows. Census Designated peaked at number 27 on the North American College and Community Radio Chart dated November 14.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Exclaim!	7/10
The Guardian
The Needle Drop	6/10
Ondarock [it]	7/10
Pitchfork	7.8/10

Census Designated received mostly positive reviews from publications. Beaumont-Thomas thought Remover's guitar-playing sounds "like no one else", due to her history in genres such as digicore and hyperpop. He called Remover a "superb arranger" and that she is able to revitalize "these staple guitar sounds". He concluded by writing that there "isn't a single weak song" on the album and called the title track the "greatest of her visionary approach". Press-Reynolds described it as "a feverish mutation of shoegaze and bedroom pop", saying the album offers an immersive experience, and called it her "most poignant and piercing music" yet. Nafekh-Blanchette thought the album to be her most "most cohesive work yet", and that it trades the "contagious energy" of her previous works for "retrospection and tranquility". Corrado said the sounds heard on Frailty are "completely overturned" and called Remover's guitar "a guide to long compositions". He concluded his review with stating: "We can say that the underground-oriented Generation Z has found an important champion." Fantano thought the album was ambitious and its artistic intentions were pure.

Some reviewers were critical of the album's length. Press-Reynolds believed that some of the songs run on for too long, and Corrado commented on how the length of the album is not entirely useful. Nafekh-Blanchette thought that the album's "one truly divisive element" is its length; he believed said that the plentiful amount of similar sounds was a contributing factor. Reviewers also opined that the album is a downgrade when compared to her previous work. Press-Reynolds thought the album to not be as sonically pleasing as Frailty, while Nafekh-Blanchette wrote that the album lacks the "unpredictability" of Remover's album Dariacore (2021), released under the alias Leroy. Fantano overall believed that it was a downgrade when compared to Frailty.

Census Designated's title track was named one of the best tracks of the year by Pitchfork and Paste. The former website considered it the 73rd best song of the year; Daniel Bromfield wrote that on the track, Remover is "acutely aware of how dangerous show business can be for those who find early success", calling its lyrics "no less alarming than the hair-raising music behind it". The latter website ranked it the 97th best song of the year; Dawson described it as a "a portrait of an artist so comfortably entrenched in the discomfort of her own sonic world". She concluded by mentioning how Remover is succeeding at knowing her music "sounds like absolutely no one else".

Track listing

All tracks are written and produced by Jane Remover.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Census Designated's liner notes.

Musicians

• Douglas Dulgarian – additional guitar, bass (2–7, 9)
• Kale Itkonen – additional synths (6)

Technical

• Kayla Reagan – mixing (1–9)
• Jane Remover – songwriting, production, mixing (10)
• Hector Vega – mastering (all tracks)

Artwork

• Brendon Burton – cover art, photography

Charts

Notes

1. "Royal Blue Walls" is included as a bonus track on Census Designated's vinyl release.
2. Specifically, Fantano rated the album a "strong 6".
3. This quote is a translation of the original text: "completamente ribaltate"
4. This quote is a translation of the original text: "da guida alle lunghe composizioni della cantautrice"
5. This quote is a translation of the original text: "possiamo affermare che la Z Generation più incline all’underground abbia trovato un'importante paladina"

References

1. ^ Sundaresan, Mano (November 23, 2021). "Jane Remover: Frailty Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
2. ^ Sharples, Grant (December 8, 2021). "No Album Left Behind: Jane Remover's Frailty Is an Electrifying Work of Unpredictability". Paste. Archived from the original on December 18, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
3. Fantano, Anthony (November 25, 2021). Jane Remover – Frailty ALBUM REVIEW. The Needle Drop. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
4. Press-Reynolds, Kieran (November 24, 2021). "An 18-year-old invented a new genre of meme-heavy music called 'dariacore' that's like 'pop music on steroids'". Insider. Archived from the original on July 21, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
5. ^ Kelly, Chris (February 14, 2024). "For pop musician Jane Remover, experimentation is everything". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
6. ^ Cohen, Ian (October 16, 2023). "Jane Remover Can't Stop Transforming". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
7. ^ Dawson, Madelyn (October 26, 2023). "Jane Remover Reconstructs Herself Through Trust". Paste. Archived from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
8. Brickner-Wood, Brady (February 22, 2023). "Jane Remover's outer space". The Fader. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
9. Zhang, Cat (January 25, 2022). "Digicore Hero dltzk Is So Online It Hurts". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
10. ^ Jacob, Lola (November 10, 2023). "Introducing: Jane Remover on her sophomore album 'Census Designated'". Coup de Main. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
11. ^ LeJarde, Arielle (August 23, 2023). "Jane Remover announces new album Census Designated, shares "Lips"". The Fader. Archived from the original on August 26, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
12. ^ Lindert, Hattie (August 23, 2023). "Jane Remover Announces Album, Shares New Song "Lips": Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
13. ^ Madden, Emma (October 20, 2023). "On Census Designated, Jane Remover's Guitar Feels Like a Fever Dream". Them. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
14. ^ DeadAir (2023). Census Designated (Vinyl liner notes). Jane Remover. DeadAir. dA-006.
15. ^ Corrado, Michael (October 23, 2023). "Jane Remover - Census Designed". Ondarock [it]. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
16. ^ Press-Reynolds, Kieran (October 20, 2023). "Jane Remover: Census Designated Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
17. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (October 20, 2023). "Friday Music Guide: New Music From Blink-182, Charli XCX & Sam Smith, The Rolling Stones and More". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
18. ^ Feigelson, David (February 9, 2024). "The Emergence of Hyper-Rock". Paste. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
19. ^ Enis, Eli (December 18, 2023). "TikTok Has Made Shoegaze Bigger Than Ever". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
20. ^ "The five-star albums we missed in 2023 – from Jane Remover to Jalen Ngonda". The Guardian. December 25, 2023. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
21. ^ Nafekh-Blanchette, Spencer (October 20, 2023). "Jane Remover's Census Designated Balances Calamity and Quietude". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on October 20, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
22. Sherburne, Philip (December 14, 2023). "The Shoegaze Revival Hit Its Stride in 2023". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
23. Fantano 2023, 2:07.
24. ^ DeVille, Chris (November 16, 2022). "Jane Remover Shares New Single "Contingency Song": Listen". Stereogum. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
25. Fantano 2023, 2:33.
26. Fantano 2023, 4:09.
27. ^ Lindert, Hattie (September 21, 2023). "Jane Remover: "Census Designated" Track Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
28. Fantano 2023, 4:57.
29. Pappis, Konstantinos (June 27, 2022). "Jane Remover Shares New Songs "Royal Blue Walls" and "Cage Girl"". Our Culture Mag. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
30. ^ Minsker, Evan (September 20, 2023). "Jane Remover Shares Video for New Song "Census Designated": Watch". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
31. "Census Designated / Jane Remover". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
32. Minsker, Evan (October 31, 2023). "Jane Remover Announces 2024 U.S. Tour". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
33. ^ "NACC Chart - Top 200 Summary Chart". North American College and Community Radio Chart. November 14, 2023. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
34. Fantano 2023, 6:12.
35. ^ Fantano 2023, 5:51.
36. Pitchfork (December 4, 2023). "The 100 Best Songs of 2023". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
37. Paste Staff (December 4, 2023). "The 100 Best Songs of 2023". Paste. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.

Video sources

• Fantano, Anthony (November 25, 2021). Jane Remover – Frailty ALBUM REVIEW. The Needle Drop. Archived from the original on May 26, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Fantano, Anthony (November 5, 2023). Jane Remover – Census Designated ALBUM REVIEW. The Needle Drop. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2024.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

External links

• Official website
• Census Designated at Discogs (list of releases)

• Jane Remover albums
• 2023 albums
• Shoegaze albums by American artists