In conversation with Spacey Jane frontman Caleb Harper as the band bring new album ‘If That Makes Sense’ to the UK.

The name Spacey Jane might sound familiar, or it may just be the band that your friend who ‘found themself’ on a gap year in Australia won’t shut up about. Following their breakthrough with debut album ‘Sunlight’ in 2020, Spacey Jane have well and truly flourished, cementing themselves as one of the most iconic Australian indie outfits of this decade. Fresh off the release of their third full length album ‘If That Makes Sense’, the much-loved quartet, consisting of frontman Caleb Harper, bassist Peppa Lane, guitarist Ashton Hardmen-Le Cornu and drummer Keiren Lama are back bigger than ever before and look to bring their charm to fans across the globe.

“It made us appreciate touring more, that’s for sure”.

Whilst at the tail end of their North American tour, we caught up with Caleb over zoom, who joins from a hotel room in Oklahoma City ahead of a show at ‘Beer City Music Hall’. I ask Caleb for some insight into the band’s twelve month “performing hiatus”, spent mostly in LA writing and recording ‘If That Makes Sense’. He shares that the break was no holiday, “It was more so time to focus on making things and getting the record ready. The time off touring I think probably made sense, if you’re being an agent or manager about it, you’d say well, ‘Lets let demand-build and come back when people haven’t seen you in a while’, which definitely makes sense and we definitely felt the effect of that.” Despite being engrossed in writing and recording, Caleb shares that, “it made us appreciate touring more, that’s for sure — [but] I’m glad that we spent the time getting the music right for us and feeling happy with it”.

Following this hiatus, Spacey Jane broke their silence with single ‘All The Noise’, an emphatic return leaving fans asking zero questions on whether this new era of Spacey Jane would live up to the hype. “I think we liked [‘All The Noise’] because it felt like a bit of an outlier on the record. We loved the song a lot and thought we could do something kind of dramatic”. The single showed a small glimpse of the band’s brand new chapter, partnered with producer Mike Crossey, known for his work with The 1975, Wolf Alice and Arctic Monkeys. Caleb showed high praise following his collaboration with Crossey, “We just hit it off and there was a good working relationship, he’s been in the game for a long time so he knows what he’s doing. He has strong feelings about things, but he holds them loosely and respects our opinion. We butted heads sometimes but in a really professional and friendly way – I think he understood the project.” 

‘If That Makes Sense’ conveyed a real change in Spacey Jane’s approach to song writing, indicating the band’s experimentation with some sounds and styles that may not be as familiar from their past discography. Caleb shares how Mike greatly influenced certain aspects of the project, “He cares about every detail, he’s in the minutiae of everything, he wants to make sure that every sound and everything that goes into the record is really considered.” Mike’s process at times left Caleb with notions of doubt. “Sometimes I thought ‘maybe that doesn’t matter that much, to be so careful about this little bit’ but I think when you put all of that together, the record is sort of the sum of these very considered parts which I think is important”.

He reassures me that the long period of time in the studio was a dream come true and that he didn’t find the process daunting, but purely exciting. “We did eleven or twelve weeks of recording which is by far a record for us and pretty rare for any band these days. It was just like a playground — we fucked around for so long, went down every rabbit hole.”

“I said to Ashton a couple weeks out from finishing, I don’t care if anyone likes this record, I’m having the best time of my life”. 

“In reality I really care what people think, but in the moment I was so stoked on what we were doing and it just felt so cool to be able to spend three months making music, what a crazy opportunity.”

“For me, I want to be moved by the song… and feel like I’ve captured an experience or emotion that I’ve felt accurately — then I’m happy with the song”.

With mention of the band’s second single for the new record, ‘How to Kill Houseplants’, Caleb sheds light on some of his methods when writing one of the many vulnerable and emotional tracks that Spacey Jane are known for, “It’s been something that I’ve done throughout our career, I try to write very personally and emotionally. My approach is sort of ‘setting and forgetting’, if I think too hard about how honest I’m being I’d probably get cold feet and not be as straight up. It’s something that I live to regret, I think ‘fuck that was a bit personal’ — but its how I like making music.” He goes on to share the key ingredient to a sentimental Spacey Jane tune, “For me, I want to be moved by the song first and if I’m moved by it and feel like I’ve captured an experience or emotion that I’ve felt accurately — then I’m happy with the song”.

I ask if this approach to songwriting has changed over time. Caleb explains that his methods have been the same for quite a while, although on this newest record he found himself in unfamiliar territory. “Because I wrote with other people, I thought it might be slightly less personal [but] I ended up having to be so specific so that people I was working with understood what I was saying. It became more vulnerable.” 

The group’s return to shows began in May earlier this year, with a headline slot at Triple J’s ‘One Night Stand’ festival in Bussleton, Western Australia, taking place just days before their NZ/AU tour. “It was pretty hectic given that most of the songs we were playing we’d never played before — but at the same time the bulk of the tour sold out before the record was even out, which made us feel very welcomed and pretty stoked to be back on the road.” 

This marked the beginning of a monumental tour for the band, with extra dates added throughout due to demand. In choosing to stray away from arenas and the like, Spacey Jane found themselves playing a string of back-to-back nights in familiar band rooms across the country — including seven sold out dates at ‘Freo Social’, a heartwarming homecoming to bring the tour to a close. “We’re from Fremantle in a lot of ways – although none of us technically grew up there it’s where the band started, it’s where we’ve spent the bulk of our adult lives”. Caleb adds that the seven dates meant they got to put on two different local Perth artists for each show, “something that felt really community focused and was really fun”.

“We really have fun onstage and I don’t know what would happen if we stopped feeling that way.”

Ahead of their highly anticipated London show at Brixton Academy, I asked Caleb whether he and the band found themselves more or less comfortable playing international shows versus performing on home soil. “It’s funny, I think we’ve started to feel more comfortable overseas. A big part of that is that sort of new kid on the block thing that gives you this freedom to be more expressive. When we’re playing [internationally], we’re in the country for a very specific purpose and there’s not all these things that tie us to home the same way there is when we’re back in Australia, all these friends and all these different lives we’ve lived. There’s something quite liberating about it when we’re [away from home].” 

I followed by asking what makes for a good gig — a veiled attempt to figure out how I could assist in the making of an excellent show. “It’s a very simple transaction that happens. If you enjoy yourself onstage and appreciate the fact that you’re there and you show that, that feeling is almost always reciprocated by the audience — and that’s like the greatest thing ever. We really have fun onstage and I don’t know what would happen if we stopped feeling that way.”

Whilst only at the beginning of their EU/UK tour, I try to gather insight into what’s next for Caleb and the band. “The machine sort of rolls on whether or not I want it to or whether or not I feel like doing it — which is great because I do feel like doing it.” It’s clear that Spacey Jane are showing no signs of slowing down — this band isn’t going anywhere.

Spacey Jane’s remaining UK/EU tour dates here: https://spaceyjane.com.au/#live