PERTH band Spacey Jane have followed the perfect formula for indie-rock success in Australia in 2020.
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They've released two popular EPs No Way To Treat An Animal (2017) - which spawned their breakout track Feeding The Family - and In The Slight (2018), they've secured mass triple j support and their performances at Laneway Festival earlier this year proved they possess an energetic and tight live set.
Now the four-piece are taking the next important step, the release of their debut album Sunlight.
Vocalist and rhythm guitarist Caleb Harper has a wonderful knack for hooks. Sunlight is brimming with anthemic and breezy pop melodies.
The already-released singles Good For You and Good Grief are the obvious highlights, but new track Wasted On Me surpasses both with a delectable chorus custom-made for belting out across packed auditoriums. It certainly points to where Spacey Jane's ambitions lie.
While, Spacey Jane's music is brimming with sunshine, Harper's lyrics are fixated on relationship and family breakdowns, his mental health and introspection.
On Wasted On Me Harper sings, "You must feel that you wasted your life for me/ Well I know I feel the same," in his slightly twanged vocal, that sits between Kings Of Leon frontman Caleb Followill and The Kooks' Luke Pritchard.
Elsewhere, Harper points to a way beyond feelings of self-loathing when he croons on Skin, "If you're looking for redemption then it's breathing underneath your skin/ And if you wanna start the healing then you'll have to let someone in."
Musically Spacey Jane aren't presenting anything outside the tried and tested indie pop-rock formula. Much like their Western Australian contemporaries, San Cisco, they're guitars sparkle with pop sheen and never threaten to abandon the chilled vibe for anything more sinister.
Sunlight is the album debut Spacey Jane always promised to deliver - catchy and fun with just enough emotional weight. It's a confident first step, but you feel Spacey Jane have plenty of room to mature in future releases to flesh out a more unique sound.
3.5 stars
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
