Here Comes Spacey Jane
We all know that choosing what makes the final cut for an album can be a challenging process. Tracks like "Sorry Instead" were close to making the final cut. Why didn't some tracks make it onto the original, and how did you decide which ones to include in the deluxe edition?
Caleb Harper— I can’t really remember what our final reasoning was. You spend so much time with the songs over the 18+ months of making the record and I get in my head about them. I think, fundamentally it just comes down to what feels right at the time - the songs we released on the LP just felt like they fit together best and that was that.
The new tracks seem to add a whole new layer to the album. Can you tell us how you think they supplement the rest of the album and what inspired you to create them?
Both of those songs are set very specifically in a house that I lived in between 2020 and 2021. For me they add a strong set of memories to the record and personalise it in a way that isn’t as prevalent across the rest of record.
It's been quite some time since you initially released the album, and yet, you've come back to release a deluxe version. How have you grown as an artist, and where do you see yourself heading?
That’s a good question and not something I’ve not thought much about. Here Comes Everybody marked a lot of firsts for us, we were full-time employed musicians and covid was more of a memory than a reality. We signed co-management in the US and all of a sudden we felt like we knew less than we needed to in regards to being a band allllll around the world. I think we got a little comfortable in Australia and the last 12 months have been both exciting and daunting as we try to establish ourselves in places away from home. We just want to keep learning and we want to make music that resonates with people, we want to take on the world and have lots of fun.
Your music has a way of capturing intense emotions, yet you present them in a uniquely refreshing way. Why don't you work with slower, melancholic melodies?
It seems counterintuitive but that pairing is what makes the most sense in my head. I think it started with our origin being in live music and the club circuit. Higher tempos and sing alongs fit into that scene so well and that’s what I was writing for. At the same time, when it comes to writing lyrics it’s only ever made sense to write about melancholy or traumatic things. I’m not exactly sure why that’s the case but I think it’s something to do with how those feelings always seem so large and accessible. They seem to be the first thing find you when you do a little digging around your brain.
In the "Lots of Nothing" rework, you collaborated with Benee. What was that like?
Stella was really amazing to work with. I gave her one page of poorly connected ideas about the song and lyrics and she came back with 90% of what you hear on the final record. We’re all big fans of her music and know she’s talented but even still I was blown away by how well she captured the spirit of the song on the first pass. It almost didn’t happen actually, there were some scheduling conflicts and we’d asked for a pretty quick turn around. Just when I thought it was a no go, I woke up to a demo in my inbox — it was a very nice day.
Why did you choose this live performance of "Hardlight" to be a part of the deluxe edition. What made it stand out?
I wish I could say that we had dozens of takes to pick from to capture the right mood but honestly that song is really hard to sing and the RAC version felt like it was just the best overall performance… Coincidentally that show was a home town gig and our first ever headline arena show so it was a really special night for us.
The album art for both the original and deluxe editions seems to be from the same shoot. Could you share what your thought process was behind the cover art?
I remember noodling around with heaps of ideas for this. Originally I wanted like 1000 people all the way up a sand dune, lit up by a flood light and fading into black. It was an image I had that I think captured the idea of “here come’s everybody” albeit a little on the nose. It turned out to be a little unrealistic (believe it or not) so we went with a different interpretation of the album title — something like the power of relationships and unity in the face of overwhelming *whatever* like a big fucken sand dune. I’ve talked before about what the album title means but it’s a bit of long story.
As a band, you’ve hit some major milestones — now selling out the UK leg of your tour and playing at Lollapalooza. How does it all feel?
For our music to connect with people and have an impact on them is the truly the greatest part of being in this gig. It’s something that you know so intimately as music listener and lover but I don’t think we started out with this idea of reaching out to people and having them reach back being on our radar. It’s something we’re still getting used to but I the pivot has already taken place. It’s gone from something we do for ourselves to something we do with and for other people. That’s not to say that songwriting isn’t deeply personal or that we don’t fundamentally love being in this band, because it is and we do. We’ve had a hard-to-explain and intrinsic obsession with this band since we started it and realising that we’re only half of the equation is way more inspiring than it is daunting and that really keeps us going.
For the people who want to get to know you outside of your own music, who are some musicians they should check out?
It’s always hard to get this list right for some reason so I’ll miss some notable names that I’ll no doubt remember after this is published! Recently I watched Zella Day open for a band in LA. I’d never heard of her before the show and I think I was late to the game but her 2022 album Sunday in Heaven is really great. She said that her backing vocalists had to pull out last minute so it was just her and a guitar but she owned the stage like there were 10 people up there. Such amazing presence and great songwriting. Another current favourite is a band called Hovvdy out of Texas who are just soooo good. I’ve listened to them non-stop for nearly two years now, amazing songwriting and production — it always makes me feel so deeply. In the vein of more formative influences for me, The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys and Wilco are probably the top three but there are plenty more. I don’t have any succinct reason for my love of those bands it’s just what made me feel really fucking awesome when I was getting into music. I was a little guitar kid writing sad rock songs at 16 and they helped me believe in myself.
