Australian four-piece Spacey Jane have been winning fans in their homeland and beyond over the last couple of years with their own brand of raucous but deeply melodic sounds and a swiftly growing reputation for breathless live shows and knockout festival performances.

Comprised of Caleb Harper (vocals), Kieran Lama (drums), Ashton Hardman Le Cornu (guitar) and Peppa Lane (bass), they looked all set to conquer the UK too, only for their May tour to be cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. Still, they’ve packed three EPs into their relatively short career to date: 2017’s No Way To Treat An Animal, followed in 2018 by In the Meantime and In the Slight, each well worth a listen. Sunlight, their debut album, dropped in June though and I’m proud to report it’s an instant summer classic: a joyous mix of jangly guitars, a delightful rough-around-the-edges charm, and bucket loads of indie singalongs.

This is the music to backtrack your summer evening barbeque, if you were allowed one, that is. Album opener Good For You is a strutting Delays–esque track that rightfully earned the band a place in the illustrious Australian annual music poll, the Triple J Hottest 100 in 2019, an early indicator of Spacey Jane’s potential. Fellow single releases Head Cold, Skin, and Good Grief keep things frantic, before Booster Seat sees Harper calm things down with an emotional gut punch of a track that features the lyrics: “Oh, I'm waiting for it patiently / My unmarked grave, my salty sea / In my pants too short, in my shame up to my knees / In a wave of guilt I roll and in a hurricane I breathe.” Lyrically this typical of Sunlight.

The infectious catchiness of the songs hides some deep themes as Harper and co wrestle with heartbreak, mental health difficulties, and the pressures of trying to find a place in the world. Weightless and Straightfaced standout in the latter half of the album, but in truth there are no low moments at all on Sunlight. It’s a triumphant record, and one that should earn Spacey Jane legions of new fans.

You can buy Sunlight through Spacey Jane’s official website.

Sunlight track list:

1. Good For You

2. Head Cold

3. Skin

4. Good Grief

5. Wasted on Me

6. Booster Seat

7. Love Me Like I Haven’t Changed

8. Weightless

9. Straightfaced

10. Trucks

11. Hanging

12. Sunlight

 indie-rock 

Watch the official video for Good For You below.