"Lots of Nothing" is a song by Australian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Spacey Jane Spacey Jane are an Australian indie rock band formed in Fremantle , Fremantle, Western Australia in 2016. The group consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Caleb Harper, lead guitarist Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu, drummer Kieran Lama and bassist P ...

, released through

AWAL AWAL (shortened from Artists Without A Label) is a global recording business that claims to serve as an alternative to the traditional record label, offering deal structures that provide artists with the resources and expertise of a global label ...

on 24 June 2021 as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from their forthcoming second studio album '' Here Comes Everybody'' (2022). "Lots of Nothing" peaked at number 34 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, number 36 on the NZ Top 40 Hot Singles Chart, was ranked at number 3 on Australian national youth broadcaster

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's Hottest 100 of 2021, and was nominated for Most Performed Rock Work at the 2022 APRA Awards. A remix of the song featuring

Benee Stella Rose Bennett (born 30 January 2000), better known as Benee (stylised in all caps; pronounced ) and formerly Bene, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter from Auckland. In both 2019 and 2020, she consecutively won Single of the Year, Bes ...

was released on 10 January 2023. In 2024, "Lots of Nothing" was certified 2× platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

for selling 140,000 units.

Background

On 8 June 2020, frontman Caleb Harper revealed that they had almost finished writing their second album. On 16 June 2021, the band renewed their global record deal with

. Spacey Jane debuted "Lots of Nothing" during a performance at the

Fremantle Arts Centre The Fremantle Arts Centre is a historic building complex on Ord Street in Fremantle, Western Australia. The heritage-listed building complex was built using convict labour between 1861 and 1868 and was used as a psychiatric hospital, initiall ...

on their Sunlight Tour on 5 May 2021. During a concert at the

Enmore Theatre The Enmore Theatre is a theatre and entertainment venue in Enmore, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1908. It is located at 118–132 Enmore Road in Newtown, in the inner west of Sydney's suburbs. It was first opened in 1912 as a ph ...

in Sydney on 2 June, the band revealed that they would release new music "next month". On 24 June, Harper appeared on

's Breakfast program ''Bryce & Ebony'', where he

premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

d the song, which was the band's first release since releasing their widely acclaimed debut album, ''

Sunlight Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible spectrum, visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrare ...

'' (2020). "Lots of Nothing" was released later that day, as the

from their second studio album.

Recording

Written and performed by the band's four members—Caleb Harper, Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu, Kieran Lama and Peppa Lane—"Lots of Nothing" was recorded and mixed by Dave Parkin at Blackbird Sound Studio, and

mastered Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...

by Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Mastering. The song was written during a break from touring, which occurred as a result of the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the music industry The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the music industry, mirroring its Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and cultural heritage, impacts across all arts sectors. Numerous music events, including music festivals, concert ...

Composition

Caleb Harper, the band's frontman, described "Lots of Nothing" as being about "wrestling with the parts of yourself that you don't like and how you can see those traits as a whole other person. It's about trying to accept all the parts of yourself, good and bad, before you are able to work on the person that you want to become." Musically, "Lots of Nothing" is an

song "filled with energetic drums and guitar riffs", with an "aching, yet catchy

horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

Tina Benitez-Eves of ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' wrote that the song "continue he band'snarrative around the complexities of relationships and struggling with

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

, through a more innocent lens." Arun Kendall of ''Backseat Mafia'' stated the track to be "a blissed out jangling sparkling beauty of a track filled with yearning and vulnerability."

Critical reception

Dave Bruce of ''Amnplify'' said "the single stands true to he bands trademark catchy yet lyrically deep musical offerings." Arun Kendall of ''Backseat Mafia'' commended the song, saying it has "ranging expansive melodies and expressive singing

hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

are carried by a bedrock of muted guitars and scaling instrumental layers that ascend to celestial heights as the song builds." Nathan Jolly of ''

Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an Online newspaper, online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 201 ...

'' wrote "this song becomes the song that shoots you back that oone perfect moment." He also felt that the song was evidence of "Caleb Harper's voice avingaccumulated more grit since heir debut album" Alex Gallagher of ''

Music Feeds ''Music Feeds'' is a free bi-weekly digital music and lifestyle magazine ( street press) established in 2008 and based in Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Austr ...

'' felt that the song "

aired Air is the name given to the atmosphere of Earth. Air or AIR may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''Air'' (Maillol), a sculpture by Aristide Maillol * ''Air'' (painting), a painting by Jan van Kessel the Elder Films * ''Air'' ...

an effervescent musical buoyancy and shimmering melodies with considered, introspective lyricism." ''Milky'' applauded the band for "continue ngtheir brand of catch indie-rock sonics, paired with introspective and deep lyricism." Chastity Hale of ''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

'' praised the song, saying "listening to "Lots of Nothing" feels like rediscovering the best summer of your youth." Hayden Davies of ''Pilerats'' believed the song " apturedSpacey Jane's jagged

indie-rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by th ...

instrumentation at a newfound peak" and likened it to

Car Seat Headrest Car Seat Headrest is an American indie rock band formed in Leesburg, Virginia, and currently located in Seattle, Seattle, Washington. The band consists of Will Toledo (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizers), Ethan Ives (guitar, bass, backing voca ...

. Simon Collins of ''

PerthNow ''The Sunday Times'' is a tabloid Sunday newspaper published by Seven West Media, in Perth and distributed throughout Western Australia. Founded as ''The West Australian Sunday Times'', it was renamed ''The Sunday Times'' from 30 March 1902. ...

'' labelled the track "infectious". Aarushi Nanda of ''Riff Magazine'' appreciated the song's "nostalgic, comforting quality... with guitar riffs that are reminiscent of summer". Annabel Kean of ''Under the Radar'' called it a "searing new track".

Accolades

"Lots of Nothing" polled at number 3 on Australian national youth broadcaster

's Hottest 100 of 2021. At the 2022 APRA Awards, it was nominated for Most Performed Rock Work.

Commercial performance

On 10 July 2021, "Lots of Nothing" was one of ''

MTV Australia MTV was a 24-hour general entertainment channel specialising in music and youth culture programming which serves Australia and New Zealand. Paramount Networks UK & Australia headquartered in London with a local office at Network 10's headquarte ...

''s playlist additions for that week. In Australia, "Lots of Nothing" debuted at number 14 on the ARIA Top 20 Australian Singles Chart, before falling out the following week. On 26 January 2021,

(ARIA) published their mid-week chart, in which they revealed the song was likely to make its debut on the ARIA Singles Chart that week. On 28 January, it debuted at number 34 on the

for the chart dated 31 January, becoming their second Top 50 entry in their home country, after "

Booster Seat A child safety seat, sometimes called an infant safety seat, child restraint system, child seat, baby seat, car seat, or a booster seat, is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Most c ...

" achieved the same feat in 2020. The song dropped into the lower fifty one week later. In New Zealand, "Lots of Nothing" debuted at number 36 on the NZ Top 40 Hot Singles Chart for the chart dated 5 July 2021, before falling out the following week. By 14 October 2021, "Lots of Nothing" had accumulated more than 3 million

streams A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large stream ...

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

Live performances

On 5 May 2021, Spacey Jane debuted "Lots of Nothing" during a performance at the

on their Sunlight Tour. On 2 August, they released official footage of a live performance of the song, which was recorded at the

, Sydney, between 25 May and 2 June that year during the same tour.

Music video

The official

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, directed by Matt Sav, premiered alongside the single's release on 24 June 2021. The video, filmed in a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, depicts the band walking through a house whilst performing the song. Annabel Kean of ''Under the Radar'' felt the video "shows the charming young rockers playing their hearts out and looking gorgeous on film in a house decked out with healthy pot plants and lush bouquets."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Benee version

On 10 January 2022, Spacey Jane released a

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

of "Lots of Nothing" featuring New Zealand singer

. It is the band's first track with a featured artist. Upon release, Harper wrote: "It's so cool to see a song that I wrote over two years ago have new life breathed into it like this". Musically, the track features Benee performing one verse herself, and providing background vocals in the original's first verse, chorus and bridge.

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2021 singles 2021 songs Spacey Jane songs AWAL singles Music videos shot in Australia Films shot in Western Australia Songs written by Caleb Harper