In the Slight is the second extended play (EP) by Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane, released independently on 10 November 2018. It was produced by Rob Grant and Dave Parkin, and preceded by two singles, "Cold Feet" and "Keep a Clean Nose". The EP was supported by a national tour from March 2019.

In the Slight
On dark wood, black-and-white images of a woman in a coat are cut out and separated by a yellow sunflower. Three of its petals have fallen onto the paper. At the bottom, "In the Slight" is hand-written.
EP by
Released10 November 2018
RecordedApril–November 2018
Studio
Genre
Length19:08
Producer
  • Dave Parkin
  • Rob Grant
Spacey Jane chronology
No Way to Treat an Animal
(2017)
In the Slight
(2018)
Sunlight
(2020)
Singles from In the Slight
  1. "Cold Feet"
    Released: 17 August 2018
  2. "Keep a Clean Nose"
    Released: 12 October 2018

Compared to the garage rock sound of their debut EP No Way to Treat an Animal (2017), In the Slight dabbles with indie rock and folk-pop, with elements of shoegaze. This style built the foundation for the sound of their debut studio album, Sunlight (2020).

Background and release

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In 2017, Spacey Jane released their debut EP, No Way to Treat an Animal. On 16 April 2018, the band released a dual single, In the Meantime, featuring the tracks "Old Enough" and "So You Wanna".[1]

The lead single "Cold Feet" was released with a launch party at Badlands Bar, Perth on 13 August 2018.[2] "Keep a Clean Nose" followed on 12 October as the second single, alongside a music video directed by George Foster.[3] The band held a launch party for the EP at the Rosemount Hotel in Perth on 10 November,[4] before embarking on the In the Slight Australian Tour in March 2019.[5]

As with the band's previous releases, the cover artwork was designed by artist Alice Ford.[6] Concerning the title of the EP, Harper explained it "came from emotions and intuitions that come out in one moment or second, unable to really be fully experienced again."[3]

Writing and production

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All five tracks on the EP were written by the band's Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu, Caleb Harper and Kieran Lama.[7] Its sound marks a departure from No Way to Treat an Animal, a "garage pop odyssey" which was described by Nathan Robert of Pilerats as maintaining a "cleaner, harder rock sound."[8][9] Instead, In the Slight has been described by Ali Shutler of NME as dabbling "with folk, emo and the decadence of ’00s indie."[10]

Describing his writing process, Harper admitted in an interview with the Geraldton Guardian that occasionally "there’s a bit of gibberish" in his lyrics. "Cold Feet" is written about his worry that an ex-lover moving the country would never come back to Australia.[11] Le Cornu admitted the band "gained a lot of maturity in the songwriting from the first to the second EP".[12] Harper continued, in a press release:

I definitely think we focussed a lot more heavily on the dynamic between our guitars and playing off each other. On the first EP we were really just playing lots of guitar, always, and we learnt to step back a little bit and try and work with each other better.[12]

Pilerats' Hayden Davies observed that the EP's "dreamy shoegaze" tracks explore "every facet and groove of their summery, guitar-backed pop sound."[3] His colleague Jacob Steenson specifically praised "Cold Feet" for its "engaging lyrics amidst just a damn fine slice of jangly indie-pop."[2] "Sawteeth", the third track and most-streamed on Spotify,[13] was praised by outlets for being notably "melancholic," with its "pensive lyricism making it a stand-out from the rest" according to Kaya Selin of The Backbeat Podcast.[14] Writing for Sacred Exile, Brandon Sims noted that "Keep a Clean Nose" and "Neoprene" "help show off Harper’s talent by giving the vocals a bit more focus," and cited the Strokes and the Cure as noticeable influences.[15]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu, Caleb Harper and Kieran Lama.

No.TitleProducerLength
1."Cold Feet"Rob Grant4:04
2."Balmy"Dave Parkin3:09
3."Sawteeth"Parkin4:00
4."Keep a Clean Nose"Grant3:42
5."Neoprene"Grant4:12
Total length:19:08

Personnel

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Musicians

  • Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu – lead guitar, writing
  • Caleb Harper – lead vocals, guitar, writing
  • Kieran Lama – drums, writing
  • Amelia Murray – bass guitar, backing vocals

Additional personnel

  • Dave Parkin – producer, mixing (tracks 2–3)
  • Rob Grant – producer, mixing (tracks 1, 4–5), mastering (tracks 1, 4)
  • Will Bowden – mastering (tracks 2–3, 5)
  • Alice Ford – artwork

Release history

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Release formats for In the Slight
Region Date Format Label Catalogue
Various 10 November 2018 Digital download, streaming Spacey Jane (independent)
Australia 27 November 2020 LP SPACJ006LP
21 January 2021

References

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  1. ^ Davies, Hayden (16 April 2018). "Premiere: Perth's Spacey Jane returns with new double A-side, In The Meantime". Pilerats. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b Steenson, Jacob (20 August 2018). "Premiere: The good times roll on for Spacey Jane and their jangly new single, Cold Feet". Pilerats. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Davies, Hayden (9 November 2018). "Exclusive: Stream Spacey Jane's new EP, In The Slight, before it arrives tomorrow". Pilerats. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  4. ^ Collins, Simon (8 November 2018). "Local garage pop quartet Spacey Jane launch new EP". The West Australian. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  5. ^ "We're going on tour in a few weeks time!". Instagram. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
  6. ^ Ford, Alice (23 June 2023). "CV". Big Al. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'Cold Feet'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 21 December 2022. Note: for additional works click on 'Search and filter' and enter another title.
  8. ^ "Exclusive: Stream Spacey Jane's extremely good time new EP, No Way To Treat An Animal". Pilerats. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  9. ^ Robert, Nathan Hugh (1 June 2021). "Spacey Jane, and the meaningful magic of Booster Seat one year on". Pilerats. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  10. ^ Shutler, Ali (18 June 2020). "Spacey Jane – 'Sunlight' review: huge songs at no expense of heartfelt honesty". NME. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  11. ^ Lavell-Lee, Jackson (21 June 2019). "Spacey Jane fired up for tour". Geraldton Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Spacey Jane Bio long BGFeb20" (PDF). In2une Music. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  13. ^ In the Slight – EP by Spacey Jane on Spotify, 9 November 2018, retrieved 19 December 2022
  14. ^ Kaya, Selin (23 March 2021). "Live Review: Spacey Jane @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl 23/03/2021". The BackBeat Podcast. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  15. ^ Sims, Brandon (11 March 2019). "Spacey Jane: Dreamy, Garage Surf-Rock for the Modern Soul". Sacred Exile. Retrieved 19 December 2022.