At the beginning of the music video for “Census Designated,” Jane Remover lopes in slow motion down a dirt road, pulling a white cotton tank top off to bare her back to the camera lens. The new single and title track to her upcoming album signals a more stripped-down sound than on her 2021 debut, Frailty; whereas the former had bright, frenetic electronic breakdowns, here there are more traditionally atmospheric shoegaze and emo licks that settle in over time alongside sparer vocal production. The ragged energy of Frailty doesn’t fully land until the end of “Census Designated,” when it collapses into screams and broiling static. Lyrically, the themes here are consistent with Jane’s past work—feeling left behind, difficult to love, wary of the future. But the words are more specifically and vulnerably drawn, like in a painfully immediate scene in the chorus: “Can’t help but think the man I love the most is lying to me/He’s calling, crying, said ‘Don’t ever come to NYC.’” Behind this evolution is a songwriter already well worth her salt.
