# Contingency Song

"Contingency Song" is a song by the American musician Jane Remover from their second studio album, Census Designated (2023). It was released by DeadAir Records on November 16, 2022, as the second single from the album. The single version of the song differs in production from the album version. Remover wrote, produced, and mixed the track; the mastering for the single version was handled by Zeroh, while Hector Vega mastered the album version.
A shoegaze and drone track, "Contingency Song" is a ballad that contains no drums and is built around a persistent buzz, slowed-down sounds of sirens, and howling wind. Its lyrics discuss the apocalypse, a collapsing relationship, and self-harm. Its instrumental intensifies over the course of the song until it conceals Remover's vocals and ends in near-silence. Music critics generally praised "Contingency Song" for its atmospheric shoegaze production.

## Background and release

In June 2022, Jane Remover came out as a trans woman and announced their new stage name alongside the release of the songs "Royal Blue Walls" and "Cage Girl". On November 16, 2022, their single "Contingency Song" was released by DeadAir Records. It was released alongside a reissue of their debut studio album, Frailty (2021), and an announcement of their first merchandise capsule. In a press release, Remover described the song's themes as: "Preparing for eventual doomsday. Flirting with death. Finding a difference between being dependent and being selfish".
On August 23, 2023, Remover announced their second studio album, Census Designated, alongside the release of the single "Lips". They also revealed the track listing on the same day, which included both "Cage Girl" and "Contingency Song". DeadAir Records released Census Designated on October 20, with "Contingency Song" appearing as its tenth and final track.

## Composition

The single version of "Contingency Song" differs in production from the version that appears on Census Designated. The single version is 6 minutes and 31 seconds long, while the album version is 5 seconds shorter. Remover wrote, produced, and mixed the song; the mastering for the single version was handled by Zeroh, while Hector Vega mastered the album version. "Contingency Song" is a ballad in the shoegaze and drone genres. It is a drum-less track built around a persistent buzz, slowed-down sounds of sirens, and howling wind. The instrumental gradually intensifies throughout most of the track until the song's noise conceals Remover's vocals and ends in near-silence.
Lyrically, "Contingency Song" is based around themes of the apocalypse and the collapse of a relationship ("I said I'm not enough / Please don't hurt me"), and images of self-harm ("I pour the boiling water on my hand / I still feel enough to touch myself"). Pitchfork's Allison Harris compared the latter line to similar lyrics from the song "Ditch a Body in the Laundry" (2016) by Laura Les and wrote that "Contingency Song" has "has the liminal atmosphere of an airport terminal" and a "gloomy climate". In a review of Census Designated for the same website, Kieran Press-Reynolds thought that the track has a "sparse winter horizon". Madelyn Dawson of Paste deemed "Contingency Song" a "brooding final track".

## Critical reception

Upon its release, "Contingency Song" received positive reviews from music critics. Chris DeVille of Stereogum dubbed it a "phenomenal shoegaze ballad of sorts" and praised how the track "builds in intensity […] without ever dropping a beat, then bottoms out into gorgeous near-silence again". Harris similarly lauded the atmospheric production and the way "its gloomy climate grows in harshness". Raphael Helfand from The Fader selected "Contingency Song" as a "Song You Need"; he thought that it departed from the traditional rock and roll structure with its drum-less production, which "obliterates any premature allegations of pastiche". Brady Brickner-Wood of the same magazine considered it one of the tracks that highlighted Remover's artistic reinvention and sound evolution.

## Personnel

Credits are adapted from Bandcamp and the liner notes of Census Designated.
* Jane Remover – songwriting, production, mixing (album version)
* Zeroh – mastering (single version)
* Hector Vega – mastering (album version)

## Note

* 1 2 As of September 2024, Remover has no pronoun preference. This article uses they/them pronouns for consistency.