Spacey Jane

Spacey Jane performing in Sydney in September 2018. From L–R: Hardman-Le Cornu, Harper, Lama, Amelia Murray.

In 2016, Spacey Jane was formed in Fremantle, Perth, by Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu (guitar), Caleb Harper (vocals, guitar), Kieran Lama (drums), and Amelia Murray (bass guitar). Lama had been playing drums since he was 12 years old in Horsham, Victoria, before moving to Geraldton and meeting Harper in high school.[1] Both played in a band Sicchino, with Lama meeting Le Cornu and Murray through university.[2][3] The band name is derived from the name of one of the member's friends.[4]

From 2016 to 2017, the band played one or two local shows "every week for a good year and a half",[3] and sometimes "two shows a night at different venues".[5] Their debut single, "Still Running", was released in August 2017,[upper-alpha 1] followed by tracks "Feeding the Family" and "Thrills" – the former receiving airtime on Perth radio station RTRFM.[9] Many outlets have since attributed "Feeding the Family" to the band's breakout success,[10][11] with Tone Deaf explicitly crediting the song for the group "fast becoming a favourite of music fans across the whole country."[12] Their six-track debut extended play (EP) No Way to Treat an Animal was released independently in November 2017 containing all three singles.[13] It peaked at number 23 on the ARIA Albums Chart in December 2020.[14]

On 16 April 2018, Spacey Jane released a dual single titled In the Meantime, featuring the songs "Old Enough" and "So You Wanna".[15] Hayden Davies of music publication Pilerats described "Old Enough" as "notably bright and summery, with light guitar riffs and a catchy bassline",[16] while "So You Wanna" has a "somewhat brighter mood" than their EP's tracks, "with its light-hearted melodies and soaring vocals."[16]

Spacey Jane's second EP, In the Slight, appeared on 9 November 2018 with five tracks. It provided two singles – "Cold Feet" on 17 August, and "Keep a Clean Nose" on 12 October.[17] The record was described as a "meeting point of dreamy shoegaze and catchy indie pop" by Davies and was promoted with a launch party at Perth venue, Rosemount Hotel.[18] After winning the Triple J Unearthed Falls competition, the band performed at Falls Festival 2018/2019.[19]

On 24 April 2019, the band released the first of six singles supporting their forthcoming debut studio album. "Good Grief" was supported by a music video and an Australian tour, with "Good for You" and "Head Cold" following in August and November 2019, respectively.[20] "Good for You" went on to poll at number 80 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2019, marking the band's first appearance in the annual countdown.[3]

Lane joined Spacey Jane as bass guitarist following Murray's departure in 2019.

In July 2019, the group announced that Murray was amicably leaving the band to focus on her medical career, playing her last show on 13 July.[21] She was replaced on bass guitar by Peppa Lane from Margaret River, who had studied at Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and performed on double bass in her group, the Friendly Folk.[22] Lane's second show with Spacey Jane was at Splendour in the Grass on 21 July.[23]

According to Lama, the band toured nationally to "crowds of 20 people" between 2016 and 2019, but that their appearances at Splendour in the Grass and Brisbane's Bigsound festival in 2019 were "pivotal moments for the band" providing a "ridiculously upward trajectory".[1] Spacey Jane signed a global deal with AWAL in December 2019.[24]

The band performed at Laneway Festival on 2 February 2020, with their set later broadcast on Triple J's Live at the Wireless.[25] Later that month, the band announced that their debut studio album, Sunlight, was due in June through AWAL.[26] A fourth single, "Skin", was issued alongside the news, kicking off an Australian and New Zealand Tour (which was later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic).[27][28]

In March 2020, the band participated in the first round of Isol-Aid, a stay-at-home festival initiative to assist the Australian music industry during the pandemic.[29] They performed a 20-minute set via an Instagram livestream.[30]

Upon the release of Sunlight on 12 June 2020, Triple J named it their weekly feature album.[33] It peaked at number two on the Australian charts and went on to top the 2020 Triple J Album Poll.[34] Album track "Booster Seat" also received acclaim from music publications,[35] with Al Newstead of Triple J calling it a "life-affirming song with a platinum-strength sing-along quality".[31] It went on to win Song of the Year at the 2021 ARIA Awards and Best Independent Song of the Year at the AIR Awards. By September 2022, the song was verified triple platinum in Australia for the shipment of 210,000 copies.[36]

Leading up to the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2020, multiple publications predicted that "Booster Seat" would top the list,[37] with Josh Leeson of Northern Beaches Review writing it "is the one presenting the best chance of securing the first Australian Hottest 100 winner since Ocean Alley's 'Confidence' in 2018".[38] In January 2021, "Booster Seat" polled at number two.[31][39] This milestone led Leeson to call Spacey Jane "arguably the breakthrough Aussie band of 2020".[5]

In February 2021, the band signed to Lama's management company, Anybody Management.[40] In June, they renewed their deal with AWAL, with marketing director Ben Godding stating that the label "firmly believe[d] [Spacey Jane] are now poised to break through on a global scale".[41]

On 24 June 2021, the band released "Lots of Nothing", the lead single to their second studio album. It peaked at number 34 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[42] Partnering with Apple Music in August, Spacey Jane released a three-track EP with acoustic versions of "Lots of Nothing" and "Booster Seat", and a cover of Phoebe Bridgers' 2017 single "Scott Street".[43] In October, they released second single "Lunchtime" and dates for a UK tour.[44][45] Further, in December, they contributed to the tribute double-album ReWiggled, for children's music group the Wiggles, providing a cover version of "D.O.R.O.T.H.Y (My Favourite Dinosaur)".[46][47] "Lots of Nothing" and "Lunchtime" were listed in the Hottest 100 of 2021 at number three and number 12, respectively.[48]

In February 2022, Spacey Jane announced Here Comes Everybody, along with a track listing and dates for an Australian tour in March.[49][50] On 8 April, its fourth single "It's Been a Long Day" was released,[51] followed by "Hardlight" and "Pulling Through" in May and June, respectively.[52][53] After the record's release on 24 June,[upper-alpha 2] it debuted at number one on the ARIA Charts.[55] It also went on to top the 2022 Triple J Album Poll.[56] The band embarked on the Here Comes Everybody Tour in August 2022,[57] and released a dual single exclusive to Spotify featuring an acoustic version of "Hardlight" and a cover of Paramore's 2010 single "The Only Exception".[58]

In the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2022, the band scored six tracks in the countdown, including three songs in the top 10 – a feat only achieved three other times in the countdown's history.[upper-alpha 3] "Hardlight" was the highest-placed at number three, followed by "It's Been a Long Day" and "Sitting Up" at number five and six respectively.[59]

A deluxe version of Here Comes Everybody, featuring four new tracks, was released in February 2023.[60] The band toured nationwide in a regional tour from May.[61]

• In the Slight Australian Tour, 2019[72]
• Good Grief Australian Tour, 2019[73]
• Spacey Jane Australian Tour, 2019[74]
• Back on the Road (Western Australia), 2020[75]
• Spacey Jane with Special Guests (Western Australia), 2020[76]
• Sunlight Australia Tour, 2021[77]
• Spacey Jane Australia, 2022[78]
• Regional Australia Tour, 2023[60]

• Head Cold Tour (Australia & New Zealand), 2019[79]
• Spacey Jane (New Zealand), 2020[80]
• Skin Tour (Australia & New Zealand), 2020[80][81][upper-alpha 4]
• Spacey Jane UK Tour, 2020[81][upper-alpha 5]
• Spacey Jane UK/EU Tour, 2022[83]
• Here Comes Everybody Tour (Australia, New Zealand, Europe, North America), 2022–2023[57][84]

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

The APRA Awards have been presented annually since 1982 and are organised by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".[114]

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987 and are organised by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) commenced in 2016 to recognize contributions to the live music industry in Australia.

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.[127]

The West Australian Music Industry Awards (WAMIs) are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, presented annually by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM).