No Way to Treat an Animal

No Way to Treat an Animal
A young smiling boy is pictured thrown in the air by a set of adult hands. Flowers and petals sit atop the image, as well as a second cut-out of the boy in the same position. The sky behind the boy is bright blue and a tree is in the distance. At the top left is the album name in black capital letters along with the artist name.
EP by
Spacey Jane
Released17 November 2017
StudiosPoons Head, East Fremantle
Genres
Length23:48
Producers
  • Rob Grant[a]
  • Dave Parkin[b]
  • Chet Morgan[c]
  • Nick Ireland[d]
  • Calum McLaughlin[e]
Spacey Jane chronology
No Way to Treat an Animal
(2017)		 In the Slight
(2018)
Singles from No Way to Treat an Animal
  1. "Still Running"
    Released: 18 August 2017
  2. "Feeding the Family"
    Released: 29 September 2017
  3. "Thrills"
    Released: 10 November 2017

No Way to Treat an Animal is the debut extended play (EP) by Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane, released independently on 17 November 2017.

Predominantly produced by Rob Grant in East Fremantle, Western Australia, No Way to Treat an Animal was supported by three singles—their debut single, "Still Running", breakthrough hit "Feeding the Family", and "Thrills".

No Way to Treat an Animal debuted and peaked at number 23 on the ARIA Albums Chart, three years following its release.

Title and artwork

The EP's title is derived from A Man Without a Country, the autobiography of American author Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote: "Life is no way to treat an animal. Not even a mouse."[1] Fremantle-based visual artist Alice Ford designed the cover artwork in addition to promotional posters for its release.[3]

Composition

The majority of recording and mastering for No Way to Treat an Animal was performed by Rob Grant at Poons Head Studios in East Fremantle, Western Australia. "Still Running" was originally written by frontman Caleb Harper for his high school band Sicchino, and was produced and mixed over the space of nearly two years, with band members in and out for travel.[4][5]

In an interview with Perth-based music publication Pilerats, Harper said the EP is "mostly a reflection on experiences, from childhood through to young adulthood – things like breakups or growing up in church, and how they shape identity."[1]

Release and promotion

On 18 August 2017, Spacey Jane released their debut single "Still Running", which they launched at Mojo's Bar, in Fremantle, Western Australia. At the same venue on 29 September, "Feeding the Family" was released.[6][7] Their third single "Thrills" was premiered on Perth community station RTRFM on 10 November 2017.[8] "Thrills" would later win Happy Mag's "Needle in the Hay" competition, receiving a limited vinyl pressing and funding for a music video as the prize.[9]

The band held a launch party for No Way to Treat an Animal at the Bird on 16 November 2017, with supporting performances by Carla Geneve and Childsaint.[10] The EP was issued digitally and on a limited run of CDs, and was pressed to LP vinyl in 2020.[11]

Critical reception

Pilerats called No Way to Treat an Animal a "garage-pop odyssey that sounds crisp as hell," and "one of the year's best local EP releases."[1] Nathan Robert, writing for the same website four years later, praised its singles that "disregard psychedelic sensibilities and pay homage to a cleaner, harder rock sound."[12] Writing for Happy Mag, Freya McGahey stated that "Still Running" was "impressive and impeccably crafted," pulling off "clarity of tone and sharp lyricism with perfection." McGahey went on to praise the band for "hav[ing] integrated a bold indie pop sound with their own raw Australian top coat."[5]

Writing for online publication, Scenestr, Gareth Bryant commended "Feeding the Family" for being a "sensational earworm [sic] with an infectious riff."[13] The track was also ranked number 44 on Perth station RTRFM's 2022 listener poll ranking the 45 greatest songs from Western Australia.[14] Online magazine Eat Your Water called the EP an "immediate radio success."[15]

Commercial performance

No Way to Treat an Animal debuted and peaked at number 23 on the ARIA Albums Chart on 13 December 2020.[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Caleb Harper, Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu, and Kieran Lama; "Feeding the Family" co-written by Amelia Murray.

No Way to Treat an Animal track listing
No.TitleProducerLength
1."Thrills"Rob Grant3:29
2."Feeding the Family"Dave Parkin4:44
3."Papava"Grant3:53
4."Feels Better"Grant4:37
5."Still Running"Chet Morgan3:33
6."Never Been Sure of Anything"
  • Grant
  • Nick Ireland
  • Calum McLaughlin
3:30
Total length:23:48

Personnel

Credits adapted from Bandcamp.[11]

Spacey Jane:

Additional personnel

  • Nick Ireland – production (6), mixing (1–5)
  • Calum McLaughlin – production, mixing (6)
  • Rob Grant – producer (tracks 1, 3–4, 6), mastering (all tracks)
  • Chet Morgan – production (5)
  • Dave Parkin – production (2)
  • Alice Ford – cover art

Charts

Chart performance for No Way to Treat an Animal
Chart (2020–2021) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16]23

Notes

  1. ↑ Tracks 1, 3–4, 6
  2. ↑ Track 2
  3. ↑ Track 5
  4. ↑ Track 6
  5. ↑ Track 6

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Exclusive: Stream Spacey Jane's extremely good time new EP, No Way to Treat an Animal". Pilerats. 15 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Davies, Hayden (18 April 2018). "Premiere: Perth's Spacey Jane returns with new double A-side, In the Meantime". Pilerats. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  3. ↑ Ford, Alice (2017). "Musician Art". Alice Ford. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Collins, Simon (15 June 2020). "Perth's indie darlings Spacey Jane thought they'd never play music again". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 McGahey, Freya (18 August 2017). "Premiere: The debut single from Spacey Jane almost didn't make it, but we're so glad it did". Happy Mag. Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  6. ↑ Spacey Jane [@spaceyjane]; (13 August 2017). "Some time soon (August 18), in a galaxy far, far away (@mojosbarfreo), SJ will be launching..." Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026 – via Instagram.
  7. ↑ Spacey Jane [@spaceyjane]; (1 September 2017). "Round Two!! Supports + other cool stuff still TBA, strap yourselves in..." Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026 – via Instagram.
  8. ↑ Spacey Jane [@spaceyjane]; (9 November 2017). "Hey friends, we're premiering the opening track from our debut EP tomorrow..." Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026 – via Instagram.
  9. ↑ Innes, Matt (24 September 2018). "Spacey Jane extend their orbit". Scenestr. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Spacey Jane [@spaceyjane]; (18 October 2017). "Launching our debut EP at @william_street_bird next month! Joined by @childsaintband & @carla_geneve..." Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026 – via Instagram.
  11. 1 2 "No Way To Treat An Animal by Spacey Jane". 17 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2026 – via Bandcamp.
  12. ↑ Hugh Robért, Nathan (31 May 2021). "Spacey Jane, and the meaningful magic of Booster Seat one year on". Pilerats. Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2022 – via The Music.
  13. ↑ Bryant, Gareth (28 October 2017). "Fremantle indie rockers Spacey Jane really love their dogs". Scenestr. Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
  14. ↑ "Are these the greatest WA songs of all time?". The Music. 4 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  15. ↑ Bec; Jacqui; Bon (24 July 2021). "Spacey Jane has emerged as one of the biggest names in the Australian indie-rock music scene". Eat Your Water. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  16. 1 2 "Australiancharts.com – Spacey Jane – No Way to Treat an Animal". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
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