‘If That Makes Sense’ by Spacey Jane Sounds Like Summer
After a debut album, one EP, and many singles, Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane proves they are a force to be reckoned with on their latest album, If That Makes Sense. The band has risen to fame and global recognition since their debut single “Feeding the Family” hit streaming platforms. Known for combining classic rock and roll elements and more modern indie-pop sounds, the band has found a special place in the hearts of yearning daydreamers and coming-of-age film enthusiasts. With nearly a decade of experience as a band under their belts, lead singer and guitarist Caleb Harper, lead guitarist Ashton Le Cornu, drummer Kieran Lama, and bassist Peppa Lane have found their instrumental groove. They are now flexing their strong storytelling muscles. The uplifting electric guitar riffs and rich drums might be what draw you in, but Spacey Jane presents a plethora of lyrics worth singing at the top of your lungs a million times over.
photo by Dan Lesser @dan_lesser
If you are not familiar with Spacey Jane, you might be mistaken. One of the first tracks from the album released as a single, “All The Noise” caught the attention of indie-rock lovers and has garnered 4.5 million streams and counting on Spotify. The song is not easy to miss as heavy electric guitar riffs and speedy drums breathe to life an enthusiastic and passionate energy embodied through a shout of “Well, it's all just fuckin' noise!” that has you singing along by the end of the track.
At its core, If That Makes Sense is a love story and an emotional rumination on love lost and how, sometimes, all we need is to feel love, even if it is with someone at the wrong time and place. Many of the tracks reflect on regret for how a relationship ended, even if both parties painfully understood how inevitable a tragic ending would be. The chorus of “Impossible To Say” breathes to life a common idea that love comes before anything else. True love means doing everything in your power to make it last: “And it was for you/And it’s you/When I tell you all I ever really wanted was the end/Well, it's true.” The song reveals that even the mundane actions and decisions are all in the name of love, and only when a relationship is over do we notice the effort we put forth to keep the magic alive.
“Whateverrrr” Official Music Video Directed by Eliot Lee
In a similar vein, “Estimated Delivery” highlights how, sometimes, being human means wanting to be in a relationship even when you know in your heart it will never work out: “I see you everywhere that I go/You’re in my head, you're wearing my clothes/Watching the butter melt on our toast/And if we burn, I hope we burn slow.” In these kinds of relationships, we cling to the feeling of love we do have, hoping it will blossom into something brighter. The feeling lingers like melting butter or humidity in the final days of summer. “ILY The Most” drives this theme home in the song’s pre-chorus: “Stuck together, worse or better/More than anyone I know/Cold in the summer, warm in the winter/You’re still buried in my coat.” Instead of cleaning and packing their winter coat away, they often choose to linger in the past as the present moment speeds away. “The More That It Hurts” personifies this feeling: “Oh, wake up, honey, yeah, give me the news/Is it as bad as what I thought it was? Tell me the truth/And it's coming up to meet me, it's sharing its thoughts/And the less I know about it, the more that it hurts/The more that it hurts.” With time, the feeling that a relationship won’t work out creeps up and eats away at you until your stomach can’t handle it any longer. However, no matter how discouraging and embarrassing love can sometimes feel, there is always sweetness to be felt: “Water me, darling, love is a garden/It hasn't rained and it's starting to show/Water me, darling, love is a garden/It hasn't rained and it's starting to snow. Re-reading our messages before and I was calm/Pull myself away from you 'cause that's just what I know/Water me, darling, love is a garden/It hasn't rained, I don't want you to go.” “How To Kill Houseplants” highlights that sometimes, you feel a relationship decaying right in front of you, but you will stop at nothing to try and revive it.
“Whateverrrr” is a more spunky and cheeky take on the same theme of a love that lingers: “September, you watched me come undone as you said/‘Remember the backyard sprinklers getting me wet?’/I always surrendered, eighteen, where was my head?/Whatever, I'll think of you forever.” No matter how the relationship ended, the love was impactful enough to leave you thinking of that person forever, and you are okay with that.
Spacey Jane’s lyricism throughout If That Makes Sense is impactful because their words and sentiments are brutally honest and self-aware. In “So Much Taller” Harper flips the narrative to sing directly to himself: “And it's chasing me home through the neighbourhood/Like the big black dog when you were in school/You will never be enough, you will never be loved/And the fact that you tried is embarrassing enough, and then.” The big black dog in this scenario is love; something everyone is chasing but so few experience truly. The track reflects on the courage and risk involved in wanting love; a feeling so strong and yet so incredibly fragile.
While Spacey Jane’s lyricism is the shining star of the album, they deliver addictive instrumentals that sound like the final sticky and bitter-sweet days of a summer gone too soon. The album explores how classic rock and roll elements sound when blended with indie-pop and more modern synth-pop instrumentals. “Through My Teeth” is the first full track after “Intro,” a 33-second clip of effortlessly blended instrumentals and echoes from the proceeding album. The instrumentals are groovy and nostalgic with upbeat drums and electric guitar that collide in the chorus and through the bridge.
In “Falling Apart,” the instrumentals become a kind of new vocal track as the electric guitar riff blends and echoes with the passionate vocals through the bridge until the conclusion of the song. The instrumentals grow stronger like a second voice is trying to respond to Harper’s pleading lyrics and vocals: “I keep on calling and calling and calling and calling/And nobody answers/And I'm falling and falling and falling and falling/And nobody catches.”
Spacey Jane keeps the album cohesive with their signature indie-rock sound, but they are not afraid to experiment. “I Can’t Afford To Lose You” plays with a folksy guitar instrumental and a tangy electric guitar. “ILY The Most” could nearly be considered a ballad with its smart use of a deep piano instrumental that reflects the darker vocals and more somber melody.
Spacey Jane concludes If That Makes Sense with “August,” a track about accepting a seemingly inevitable end to a sweet summer romance. While the track is reflective, there remains some hope in that no matter how fast the time passed, there was love and joy shared between the two individuals: “And I'll always remember/July to whatever/The borders and passes/The desert red centre/It’s all we had, and that's not much/It’s all we had, and that's not much.”
In a true “coming-of-age film” fashion, If That Makes Sense leaves you hopeful and inspired for the future, especially now that summer is just around the corner. Dive head first into the new album from Spacey Jane and be sure to catch them live on tour starting May 24th, 2025 until November 2nd.
