Review | Spacey Jane – If That Makes Sense

Label: Concord

By Seth White

Australia’s beloved indie heroes Spacey Jane have teased us for long enough… their long awaited third studio album has landed in full.

The album has enjoyed a great amount of hype and build-up, with the steady release of the three singles ‘All The Noise‘, ‘How to Kill Houseplants‘ and ‘Through My Teeth,’ which have promised great things from the full length release.

So, after long deliberation from a self-proclaimed Spacey Jane enthusiast like myself, I am here to give my definitive opinion on the new record.

I think ‘All The Noise‘ is brilliant, and the other tracks off this record yet again display Spacey Jane’s undeniable ability to bring gritty and emotional Aussie indie rock to an anthemic stadium level. Caleb Harper’s (Vocals and Rhythm Guitar) lyrics and delivery are top-notch as always, gut-wrenching yet hopeful, desperate and wistful in the best ways.

As for the rest of the band, Ashton Le Cornu continues to offer fantastic lead guitar work, whilst the rhythm section of Peppa Lane and Kieran Lama completely ground the record. In many ways, this band are the complete indie rock package.

In respect to the album tracks, songs like ‘Whateverrr’, ‘Impossible to Say’, ‘I Can’t Afford to Lose You’ and ‘Falling Apart’ see the band delve once again into that all-consuming introspection that coats the music of Spacey Jane in a glisten of nostalgia.

But on this record, the band are heading for a more polished acoustic aesthetic, recruiting the production of Mike Crossey (The 1975, Arctic Monkeys, Wolf Alice) to help them achieve this vision. On some occasions I felt this record began to lack some of the energy and exuberance of the previous Spacey Jane projects and their previous sound, but that’s not a particularly bad thing, per se.

The act are moving in a direction to attract a slightly wider audience, as is the goal of many new releases. Despite that, the biggest moments on this record for me is when that signature Spacey Jane sound shines through, but just in a slightly different font.

To say Spacey Jane are pushing boundaries may be a slight overstatement; I’d venture to say they’re exploring new territories of their own unique sound and approach to their genre, which is just as impressive and worthy of praise.

Musically, the record is sublime, and now it is up to our algorithmic overlords to do the rest. Save it, stream it, cry to it, do what you please with this new slice of dreamy indie magic from Perth, Australia.