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Feeding the Family

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"Feeding the Family"
A dog searches the lid a fallen garbage bin filled with cardboard boxes of superimposed images of city buildings. Hand-written text at the bottom states the band name and EP title.
Single by Spacey Jane
from the EP No Way to Treat an Animal
Released29 September 2017[a]
StudioPoons Head, Fremantle
Genre
Length4:44
Songwriter(s)
  • Caleb Harper
  • Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu
  • Kieran Lama
  • Amelia Murray
Producer(s)Dave Parkin
Spacey Jane singles chronology
"Still Running"
(2017) 		"Feeding the Family"
(2017) 		"Thrills"
(2017)

"Feeding the Family" is a song by Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane, released on 29 September 2017 as the second single to their debut extended play, No Way to Treat an Animal. It achieved double platinum status in Australia in 2024 for selling more than 140,000 units.[1] The track is often credited with the band's rise in popularity, and has been described by many publications as their breakthrough hit.

Composition and release

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Regarding the song's composition, frontman Caleb Harper claimed himself and drummer Kieran Lama had "been sitting on the progression for a while". Lead guitarist Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu's opening riff was "materialised on the spot",[2] with Harper revealing: “I remember being so blown away by how Ashton wrote that – almost simultaneously".[3]

The song was released on 29 September 2017, premiered at Mojo's Bar in Fremantle, as the second single to the band's debut extended play, No Way to Treat an Animal (2017).[a] Its cover art was handled by visual artist Alice Ford.[2]

In 2024, "Feeding the Family" was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling more than 70,000 units.[1] As of January 2024, the track has over 45 million streams on Spotify.[8]

Reception

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The track was labelled "an immediate radio hit" by Time Out upon its release.[9] Ali Shutler of NME called the track a "wonky-indie gem with buckets of personality",[10] while Australian music publication Pilerats claimed the single to "disregard psychedelic sensibilities and pay homage to a cleaner, harder rock sound".[11] Writing for Scenestr, Gareth Bryant wrote "Feeding the Family" is a "sensational ear-worm with an infectious riff".[2] In 2022, the track polled at number 44 on Perth radio station RTRFM's countdown which ranked the 45 greatest songs from Western Australia.[12]

Legacy

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Many publications including NME and the Canberra Times have described "Feeding the Family" as Spacey Jane's breakout single.[13][14] Music outlet The AU Review claimed the band's "trajectory has generally been upward since they burst on to the scene in 2017" with the track,[15] and Tone Deaf explicitly credited the song for the group "fast becoming a favourite of music fans across the whole country".[16] Online magazine Clash wrote it was "arguably the song that first cemented Spacey Jane as a big game player".[17] Despite Harper claiming the band "don't love playing" the song live anymore, saying it has "gotten a bit old", it remains a mainstay on their set lists.[18][19]

In September 2022, during Triple J's radio event Requestival, Mark McGowan, the Premier of Western Australia, personally requested the station to play "Feeding the Family". He introduced the song before it played, concluding "there's some great talent coming out of the West".[20]

Certifications

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Certifications for "Feeding the Family"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[1] 2× Platinum 140,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Release formats of "Feeding the Family"
Release date Region Format Label
29 September 2017[6][a] Various Digital download, streaming Spacey Jane (independent)
May 2020[21] United Kingdom 7" single (b/w "Head Cold")

Personnel

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Credits adapted from Bandcamp.[6]

Spacey Jane

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

Additional personnel

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c "Feeding the Family" was released on 29 September 2017, according to Bandcamp and social media posts by the band.[4][5][6] However, in 2023, metadata for the track on streaming services was changed for unknown reasons to indicate it was uploaded on 29 July 2017, falsely implying it came before their debut single "Still Running" (released on 18 August 2017).[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  2. ^ a b c Bryant, Gareth (28 October 2017). "Fremantle Indie Rockers Spacey Jane Really Love Their Dogs". Scenestr. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  3. ^ Lavell-Lee, Jackson (21 June 2019). "Spacey Jane fired up for tour". Busselton-Dunsborough Times. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. ^ "spacey jane on Instagram: "ROUND TWO!! Supports + other cool stuff still TBA, strap yourselves in"". Instagram. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  5. ^ "spacey jane on Instagram: "in case you missed it, our latest single feeding the family came out last week"". Instagram. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "Feeding the Family". Bandcamp. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Still Running". Bandcamp. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  8. ^ Feeding the Family, 29 July 2017, retrieved 16 February 2023
  9. ^ Maier, Adena (8 July 2022). "Get tickets to see Spacey Jane at the Forum". Time Out Melbourne. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  10. ^ Shutler, Ali (18 June 2020). "Spacey Jane – 'Sunlight' review: huge songs at no expense of heartfelt honesty". NME. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Spacey Jane, and the meaningful magic of Booster Seat one year on". Pilerats. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  12. ^ "RTRFM's 45 Greatest WA Songs". RTRFM. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  13. ^ Leeson, Josh (10 June 2020). "REVIEW: Spacey Jane - Sunlight". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  14. ^ Martin, Josh (8 June 2020). "Spacey Jane are the Fremantle garage rock optimists letting the 'Sunlight' in". NME. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  15. ^ Somerford, Ben (19 November 2020). "Interview: Spacey Jane talk J Awards & returning to touring, "I'll never take live music for granted anymore"". The AU Review. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  16. ^ Jenke, Tyler (12 June 2020). "Spacey Jane have unleashed their stunning debut album, 'Sunlight'". Tone Deaf. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  17. ^ "Live Report: Spacey Jane - Roundhouse, London". Clash. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  18. ^ Lefevre, Jules (9 March 2021). "Spacey Jane On 'Booster Seat', Their New Album, And The Song They Can't Stand To Play". Junkee. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  19. ^ Lefevre, Jules (26 May 2021). "Spacey Jane's Victory Lap Has Only Just Begun". Junkee. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  20. ^ Disalvo, Tom (29 September 2022). "WA premier Mark McGowan requests Spacey Jane during triple j's Requestival". NME. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  21. ^ Spacey Jane - Feeding The Family, retrieved 16 February 2023
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