Being a chameleon isn’t anything new for Jane Remover — from her early eclectic releases under the “leroy” moniker to her indietronica debut “frailty” to her second, shoegaze-indebted record “Census Designated,” they’ve continually shifted their sonic palette with each release.Her surprise new album “Revengeseekerz” has done this again, perhaps to a greater extent than ever before.
Forget Playboi Carti — Jane has embraced the popular rage sound that is dominating rap right now but injected it with steroids and cybernetic limbs to create a blown-out, techno-orgy of throttling beats, sassy vocals, and tuneful melodies. Genre flies out the window as digital hardcore, electroclash, and hip-hop collide and morph into bizarre shapes. Songs like “Star People” are the closest thing on the record to traditional rage music, but even these tracks have overbearing, maximalist production where layers of bass snarl over top of each other as relentless trap percussion spits like machine gun fire. Every beat drop is accompanied by an industrial scrape or the shattering of glass, every breath of respite is followed by an even louder 808 thudding into your skull. It’s mayhem, and could easily be overwhelming, but Jane keeps it from becoming trite..
“Dancing with your eyes closed” showcases Jane gleefully shouting atop a glimmering, maxed-out rap beat. “Promise, I like it like that!” they shriek as the instrumental burbles and gleams, layered in dense fuzz but still allowing its minutiae of details to sparkle through. It’s a track of joyful ebullience, which stands counter to some of the more aggressive cuts.
Perhaps the most relentless track on the album, the Danny Brown-dueted “Psychoboost” is one of the most energizing and shocking songs I’ve heard this year. Brown’s madcap performance perfectly suits the roaring, thrumming electroclash beat that frequently swaps from brief moments of calm into electrifying, snarling two-step drops, filled with speaker-rattling explosions of bass and synths. It only intensifies as it progresses, and it’s definitely a highlight- if you don’t listen to this record, at least listen to this song.
“Professional Vengeance” is another high point; it starts more structurally conventional and then morphs into glitchy hardstyle kicks over spiraling, chaotic synthesizers as the song loses its melody and devolves into harsh skittering beats. More than any others, this track feels like the heart of the ethos of this album. It combines Jane’s knack for melody with eclectic percussion and wild production, taking you on a unique journey, like every other track on this record. It makes for a listen that, while at times overwhelming, is a blistering and chaotic ride on a neon-soaked, drug-fueled roller coaster — you just have to be brave enough to get on board.
