

The songs on Exit Wounds were written during the sessions for Spacey Jane’s third album, 2025’s If That Makes Sense, but the West Australian quartet didn’t feel like they matched the tone and mood of that record. Far from a collection of offcuts, though, this six-track offering sees the group experimenting further with ’80s-influenced indie rock pop (“East Village,” “Do You Really Love Her”), while singer/guitarist Caleb Harper presents a personal collection of lyrics that feel both confessional and autobiographical (“She said, ‘Caleb, you’ve been making me sad,’” he sings on “East Village”). “I Never See Her” is about delaying an inevitable breakup while rationalizing the decision to split, and longing for an emotional safe place throughout the ordeal. Synth-laden closer “Do You Really Love Her”—a co-write with Sarah Aarons and Joel Little—draws on the widescreen musical traditions of lush ’80s pub-rock bands like ICEHOUSE, The Church, and INXS. A song about yearning for connection, it blurs the line between fiction and reality as Harper sings of a dream about being stood up by a date, only to see them on a movie screen.