Based in Brighton and also Croydon, England, indie pop specialists Jetstream Pony have recently released their second full-length on vinyl, compact disc, and digital through Spinout Nuggets in the UK and Shelflife Records in the USA. Exuding nary a hint of the tentative, Bowerbirds and Blue Things collects 12 solid songs with occasional bursts of excellence that reflect the member’s prior service in some of the heavier hitters in the whole indie pop shebang.
Named after a retired racing greyhound, Jetstream Pony’s lineup features Beth Arzy (The Luxembourg Signal, Trembling Blue Stars, Aberdeen, The Fireworks, Lightning in a Twilight Hour) on vocals and tambourine, Shaun Charman (The Wedding Present, The Popguns, The Fireworks) on guitars and vocals, Kerry Boettcher (Turbocat) on bass and vocals, Mark Matthews (The Dentists, Coax, The Echo Heights, The Treasures of Mexico) on additional guitar,s and Tom Levesley on drums.
After three 7-inch singles and a 12-inch EP came Jetstream Pony’s self-titled first album in May 2020. The mini-album “Misplaced Words” arrived the following year, with an intermittent sprinkling of activity documented on a few short-players since, including a lathe cut 7-inch issued late last year that paired Bowerbirds and Blue Things track “Captain Palisade” with a non-album flip.
The new record’s opener “Sit and Wonder” is a splendid dose of chime pop with a sturdy foundation as Arzy’s vocal is dream-pop breathy with a hint of melancholy. The following cut “Frustration Can Cause Accidents” hits even harder with Levesley giving the toms a workout as Charman lends backing and Arzy’s singing inspires thoughts of The Primitives.
After a slow rise in volume, “Bubblegum Nothingness” is a sweet ball of guitar texture and rhythmic drive setting the stage for “The Relativity of Wrong,” a bass heavy and considerably post-punky affair with guest spoken vocal by former Fall keyboardist Eleni Poulou. From there, “Bonanza 2 Tango Sierra” sports indie pop precision reminiscent of the original wave of mid-’80s UK bands. Next is “Birdland ’74,” with its ’60s Spector beat, ’80s jangle, and ’90s shoegaze blend, and then “Only If You Want To” roars into high pop-rock gear with Charman taking the lead to deliver the record one of its highlights.
Arzy is back up front for “Tendrils,” the track echo-laden and breathy (again) with an appealing aura of sophistication in the song structure. It sits in contrast to “Bad Common Earth Connection,” which has an decidedly rock edge and is fully loaded with guitar, especially when the choruses hit. And then, “Captain Palisade” features longtime Jetstream Pony auxiliary member Hannes Müller (The BV’s, Endlich Bluete) on drums (he also contributes to the album’s closer “Look Alive!”), the cut further reinforcing the band’s emphasis on rawness over any overt gestures of the twee.
The album rolls without a stumble into the homestretch, “3am” spotlighting Levesley’s sharpness behind the kit and dishing a swell chime-pop passage in the song’s back half. “Look Alive!” has a similar production strategy to “Captain Palisade,” with Arzy’s vocal not so much echoey as just back in the mix, and similar to “3am,” it showcases the gamut of Jetstream Pony’s strengths in a single song.
In indie pop terms, it’s inspiration and chemistry that elevate a record above the pleasantly derivative and into the realms of the classic. With Bowerbirds and Blue Things, Jetstream Pony are right on the cusp.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
