Subscribe 
Spacey Jane Are Still Figuring It Out
From Perth bedrooms to sold-out shows at the O2 Academy Brixton, Spacey Jane has become one of Australia's most defining indie bands. We sat down with Caleb Harper and Kieran Lama to talk growing up together, pinch me moments, and their latest single.
Spacey Jane’s latest single, Do You Really Love Her? almost didn’t make it out into the world.
Not for any dramatic reason, it was just one of those songs that took a while to click.
“It still feels like ours, like our baby,” lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Caleb Harper tells Sitchu. “But I almost had to be talked into loving it.”
That sense of sitting with something until it feels right turns out to be pretty apt for where Spacey Jane is right now. Nearly ten years in, they’re not reinventing themselves exactly, but quietly evolving and figuring out what comes next.
Nearly Ten Years In
“I’m feeling old,” Caleb laughs, when asked what’s changed. “It feels old.”
For Kieran Lama, the band’s drummer, the shift has been gradual. “We’ve been a band for a long time now — nearly ten years. I think we’ve all figured out how to live our lives a bit more separately, but it still feels like the ‘North Star’ of Spacey Jane is there.”
What’s shifted, he says, is the weight of it all. “At the beginning, it was all urgency and desperation. The stakes felt really high. Now it’s more like — okay, we’re doing a job, and we’ve figured out how to do it well.”
‘Doing it well’ is an understatement given the impressive number of sold-out shows across the UK, Europe and beyond — including their largest UK headline show to date at the O2 Academy Brixton last year. “I feel like I’m looking back pretty much permanently,” Kieran says, when thinking about those ‘pinch me’ moments. “It’s the best way to feel like we’re doing something right.”
“It’s healthy human practice to reflect and be grateful and appreciative of anything in your life,” Caleb muses. “I think we can all do more of it.”
The Song That Almost Wasn’t
Choosing what makes an album cut is, as Caleb puts it, “always a weird process.” Personal favourites, outside opinions, how a record holds together — it’s never just one thing. With Do You Really Love Her?, Caleb admits he took a little convincing to fully get on board. “I had a strange relationship with it for a long time. I liked it, but it took me a while to really come around to it.”
Creative compromise is a balancing act the band has mastered over time, Kieran says. “It feels pretty democratic now. Everyone’s reasonable, and we’re all on the same team. We want to be doing this long-term together which makes it easier.”
It’s a dynamic that shows up across their catalogue. Caleb describes Whateverrrr, from their 2025 album If That Makes Sense, as a difficult song. “It was pretty much nothing but synths and vocals when it came to the band,” he explains. “I was quite insistent on getting it to a place where we liked it collectively, and credit to the rest of the band, because they really put the hours in and made something amazing. Better than what it could have been on its own.”
The lesson, he says, is simple. “If you believe in it, you just have to push through the roadblocks and figure it out.”
He’s glad they did with Do You Really Love Her? too. And given the reception since the song’s release, it’s hard to argue with the call.
What Comes Next
Ask either of them to define what a Spacey Jane song actually is right now, and you’ll get a refreshingly honest answer.
“I don’t know,” Caleb says. “Especially right now — we’re writing again and back in the studio, so I feel particularly unsure of what that is. But it’s kind of a cool place to be. Just a mess of ideas you’re trying to shape into something. We want it to be something different all the time.”
For now, Caleb and Kieran are based in Los Angeles, Ashton and Peppa back in Melbourne — writing, resetting, and gearing up for another run of shows. New music is coming “very soon,” Caleb says, with a casualness that suggests it’s closer than you’d think.
And after that?
“And then I’ll disappear off the face of the earth,” he laughs.
Quickfire: Spacey Jane’s Favourite Aussie Spots
Perth: An easy one to start. Both Caleb and Kieran land on South Beach Hotel without missing a beat — a reliable favourite from their hometown. Kieran adds Madalena’s to the list, which Caleb doesn’t argue with.
Melbourne: Another one they agree on instantly: The Royal Oak. Kieran also throws in the Marquis of Lorne. “Classic,” Caleb says. Hard to argue.
Sydney: Both start with The Cricketers Arms before Caleb declares the Enmore Theatre “the best venue in Australia.” He admits it’s been so long since they’ve played there that it’s taken on an almost mythical quality. “It’s been immortalised in my mind as this amazing thing,” he laughs. “Maybe it’s time to go back.”
Brisbane: Black Bear Lodge gets a unanimous vote. sAme sAme also gets a mention — a wood-fired spot that clearly left an impression. Ric’s, Biànca and Blute’s Karaoke are all added for good measure.
Adelaide: Africola gets a well-deserved mention, with a special nod to the sadly now-closed 1000 Island Tiki Bar, where Caleb reminisces on drinking a few fishbowl cocktails.
Hobart: Kieran has a soft spot for Bar Wa Izakaya, a Japanese restaurant and bar that took the band in after their final Hobart show and, in his words, “showed us a good time.” He’s still got the staff member’s Spotify login somewhere. A fact that raises more questions than it answers.
Dream Aussie Venues: The answers come quickly: Sydney Opera House, the MCG — or on top of the Harbour Bridge, if you’re asking Caleb. “We’ve played most of the venues that feel realistic for us,” Kieran says. “Now it’s more about those bigger, iconic things. But we’ve been lucky to play a lot of amazing rooms already.”
WA Spots That Feel Like a Movie: El Caballo Blanco in Wooroloo, the King Neptune Statue at Two Rocks, Dirk Hartog Island, The Pinnacles, and Wave Rock — also known as Katter Kich. Consider this your unexpectedly excellent Western Australian road trip list.
The only answer that really matters: Asked where they’d choose for a post-show drink anywhere in Australia, Caleb doesn’t hesitate: “My house.” Kieran agrees. “Everyone always ends up there anyway.”
Cultural Picks
Favourite music-related films: Almost Famous, Whiplash, Sound of Metal, Dig!, Song Sung, and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
Films that feel like a fever dream: Eyes Wide Shut, Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet, Paris, Texas, Gone Girl.
Best double feature after a breakup: Two options, depending on how you’re feeling. If you want to cry and then cry some more: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind followed by Her.
Did you like reading this? Check out the latest happenings in entertainment news here.
