At the beginning of the year, Jane Remover told Billboard they had thrown away an entire album of proper pop tracks: “If it came out,” they explained, “I was going to be, like, main pop girl. And I didn’t want that.” Even if a bit self-aggrandizing, the claim doesn’t seem too far-fetched. They had first found a taste of fame with hyperactive pop mutilations, and even their subsequent pivots towards soupy digital shoegaze or pulverizing rage-pop-rap didn’t halt the 22-year-old’s ascent into cult stardom. Now, after their most prolific and prominent year yet, Jane Remover offers a small taste of that pop record. Full of perfect hooks and fresh dance-inspired beats, the six songs on ♡ back up Jane Remover’s claims as a master crafter of pop songs.
♡ highlights Jane Remover’s ability to translate their wide-ranging tastes into wildly imaginative pop packages. “Magic I Want U” takes a loose Think break and peppers it with euphoric synths and VST guitars; it feels equally indebted to ’90s freestyle artists like Lisa Lisa and Alisha and aligned with buzzy pop peers like underscores and Quadeca. “Music Baby” is built around a romantic Jersey club groove—and not the mainstream abstraction of Jersey club that’s run amok in recent years, but a far more accurate homage to protogenitors like DJ Tameil and DJ Tim Dolla. When artists invoke that famed kick pattern these days, it often feels like fishing with cheap bait, but Jane Remover’s adaptations make “Music Baby” feel more sincere and passionate.
Jane Remover has never been afraid to jack a recent trend or two, though. “Flash in the Pan” begins as a queerification of Cash Cobain’s insatiable sexy drill groove, but then collapses into a pit of noisy digital shoegaze. The reggaeton influence on “How to Teleport,” though, sticks out like a sore thumb, failing to gel as well as the regional club influences on other tracks. The EP slows to a halt with “Dream Sequence,” an alt-rock meditation that reworks old material from their own indie-rock project as venturing. The track is a tasteful palette cleanser reminiscent of digi-centric rock artists like Parannoul, even if the lethargic shoegaze feels like it’s coming from a bygone version of Jane Remover.
♡ is full of delicious moments that feel like biting into a rich chocolate-covered strawberry: the falsetto runs at the end of “Magic I Want U,” the subtle “rock ya hips” sample littered throughout “Music Baby,” or the impressive use of scratching across the whole EP. Songs about partying with your crush are nothing new, but Jane Remover delivers theirs with a playful juvenility that makes the emotional expression on ♡ feel novel. The EP’s indulgent sound and thoughtful embellishments make you wonder what new spin on radio pop might result from getting Jane Remover in, say, a Tate McRae or KATSEYE writers room.