By Edward Clark
Jane Remover’s most recent release Ghostholding under side project ‘venturing’, refines her exploration of a rock soundscape. The project follows 2023’s Census Designated, Jane’s foray into post-rock and shoegaze, yet the sound on this release is tighter, Jane’s vocals less distorted, the guitar softer and the melodies more distinctive. On highlights such as ‘Sister’ and ‘Believe’, Jane’s distinct vocal style is placed at the forefront of the mix, accompanied by a relatively stripped-back rock instrumental. There is minimal deliberately harsh drone, a staple of Census Designated, and hardly any of the digitization which defined 2021’s frailty, an album which pioneered a subgenre coined ‘digicore’. In contrast to Jane’s previous releases, Ghostholding is simple yet potent.
Jane Remover’s rise to success followed her pioneering of the electronic, hyperpop-influenced genre ‘Dariacore’ online, after cultivating an audience through releases on Soundcloud. This self-made genre thus influenced 2021’s frailty, a record which embedded Jane’s distinct vocal style in her self-produced, incredibly detailed hyperpop-styled beats. She then progressed away from this genre in 2023’s Census Designated, a pioneering shoegaze and drone-heavy record. Even these songs, however, clearly reflected Jane’s passion for intricate, polished, detail-heavy music. Vocals on tracks such as ‘Lips’ were heavily layered, and crushing guitars, drums and piercing screeches combined to provide a challenging sonic experience. Ghostholding largely reduces Jane Remover’s strong songwriting in this style to its simplest form: a vocal line, guitar, bass and drums.
This stylistic decision does prevent Ghostholding from reaching the almost-metal heights Census Designated did on tracks such as ‘Idling Somewhere’ and ‘Census Designated’, yet instead achieves a stripped-back sound which amplifies Jane’s voice. For example, ‘Sick / Relapse’ is an absolute standout, with Jane’s vocals beautifully harrowing as they provide more clarity in the mix compared to her previous work. When provided the space to breathe, Jane’s emotional vocal tone and the repeated lyrics of ‘everybody’s seen my body’ and ‘everybody’s touched and said they love me’ take centre stage. No matter how the listener interprets these lyrics, perhaps as an exploration of the widespread sexualisation and fetishisation of trans women – Jane being one herself – or lamenting a personal relationship, the song is incredibly poignant. When the track does build to a crescendo, the guitar solo and heavy drums go further to emphasise the lyrical material of the song rather than overshadowing Jane’s voice. Unlike deliberately intense hyperpop-styled sounds found in her previous work, the electronic noises on Ghostholding appear in moments of levity and beauty. The metronome-like beeping in the background of ‘Sick / Relapse’, alongside a high-pitched twinkling in the background of the instrumental section is beautiful rather than overbearing. These moments remind me of stripped-back highlights previously released by Jane, such as ‘goldfish’ or the single release of ‘Contingency Song’.
However, not all of the tracks on Ghostholding are amplified by Jane’s simplification of her sound. Where the songs with the strongest melodies are supported by strong and simple guitar lines, others simply become repetitive and uninteresting. Where a less-popular song with a weaker melody still held value in developing the sonic experience of a previous Jane Remover record, songs like ‘We don’t exist’ and ‘Play my guitar’ are more obviously identified as weaker cuts here.
Interestingly, this release under the ‘venturing’ alias has taken place alongside Jane Remover’s 2025 rollout for her upcoming album Revengeseekerz. However, the sound she has adopted on her singles ‘JRJRJR’ and ‘Dancing with your eyes closed’ is entirely at odds with that of Ghostholding. ‘JRJRJR’ is abrasive and detailed, with a maximalist, harsh electronic instrumental. Unlike the softer and melodic vocals on Ghostholding, Jane’s vocals on the repeated ‘JR’ hook are angry and assertive, underscored by a thumping bassline and a sample of the Pokémon Palkia’s in-game cry. The washed-out guitars of Ghostholding are nowhere to be found. The sound of the follow-up single ‘Dancing with your eyes closed’ is even closer to frailty’s ‘digicore’. Intense, distorted electronic breakdowns are reminiscent of the best on Jane’s debut. The grainy music video, which sees her dancing in a club to the hyperpop banger, only adds to the atmosphere. Both singles appear to be pushing Jane’s intense hyperpop sound further than she has before.
Perhaps Ghostholding’s deliberate emphasis on a softer and more refined rock sound compared with Jane’s previous work indicates an upcoming shift in the other direction on Revengeseekerz. As Jane has used their alias to ‘venture’ further into rock, they appear to be moving in the opposite direction into the hyperpop sphere on their next release. Jane Remover is not bound by genre.