Jetstream Pony, "Bubblegum Nothingness"
Reclining about the grass and leaves with Jetstream Pony; press photo courtesy of the band.
Happiness and joy is about opening up your heart, soul, and self to new ideas. Embracing the prospects of jubilant possibilities serves as one of the best antidotes to the onslaught of counterproductive noise and negativity that can consume us to the core (if personal boundaries are not properly asserted). Life is full of complications, especially as the systems of communications and information relays become co-opted by bad actors dead set on campaigns of disinformation that skewer the lines between reality and the fictitious fantasias conjured up from the fringes with malicious intent. Leaning into constructive collaboration with others helps us to rise above tribalism and insular thought processes that shows us that a better world is indeed possible. While these mantras might seem remedial or cliché; the tenets of finding and engaging with our beloved communities are time and time again the only way in which we get through the seemingly eternal hours in a world that feels sullen, hostile and shrouded in a funereal veil of perpetual night.
Delivering an upbeat sound of gilded good news in the form of song is Jetstream Pony with the beautiful bop of “Bubblegum Nothingness”. Taken from their forthcoming album Bowerbirds and Blue Things from Shelflife Records & Spinout Nuggets: Beth Arzy (Aberdeen, The Luxembourg Signal, Trembling Blue Stars), Shaun Charman (The Wedding Present, The Popguns, The Fireworks), Kerry Boettcher, Tom Levesley, and Mark Matthews (The Dentists, The Treasures of Mexico) bring a towering testament to the power of DIY pop. A group that gathers their illustrious talents, troves of influences, affinity and fanaticism for their fellow bandmates that results in a joyful noise that transcends the places and spaces of history and time itself. “Bubblegum” is the shining sound heard at a DIY show. The inspiring atmosphere infused by a shopkeeper with excellent taste at a cherished brick & mortar record shop. The soundtrack to thumbing through your favorite throwback music mag (harkening back to the glory days of print). A style & sentiment to dream on, a presence that rejuvenates the senses, and a timbre and tone that reunites you with the belief in the beauty of our shared humanity.
"Bubblegum Nothingness" surrenders to the candy coated void of visions. Jetstream Pony skyrockets through the stratospheres of time and space, saluting the cult pop heroes and esoteric icons whose arts and personas have became integral and indelible parts of our collective consciousness. The group pools together their creative experiences and inspirations into a confluence of crafts that makes the world feel brighter through their senses of sound, sight, and sentimentality. Jetstream beams up a banner of modern classicism, where the retro affinities find a welcomed home in the vertigo of our contemporary paradigms.
Pillars of DIY pop—Jetstream Pony; press photo courtesy of the band.
“Nothingness” feels like everything, and nothing at all; like an ephemeral event that emerges from the unknown of the ether amid the clouds of fog, smoke and a mysterious mist. The visuals captured by Melita Dennett conjure up exploding plastic inevitables, all the be-ins you ever wanted to be in, and all the happenings that you could ever fancy that span the 60s psych undergrounds to the subterranean basement shows that today's nascent iconoclasts inhabit. “Bubblegum Nothingness” encompasses the material, the immaterial, the finite, tiptoeing into the dimension of the unstoppable auspices of the infinite.
Shaun Charman of Jetstream Pony offered the following reflections on the inception and inspirations behind “Bubblegum Nothingness”:
Our method of creating new songs usually starts out with Beth (the vocalist of the band) sends over to the band lots of lyrics, stories, streams of consciousness on random bits of paper. I have no idea what they’re about, she likes to keep it that way! I’ll come up with music, flicking through Beth’s brain on the bits of paper to see what fits, editing here and there so it scans. The mystery of what the songs are about is part of the fun and this allows the listener to be more involved and doesn't trap the songs into being one exact thing. In the early days of Jetstream Pony we even released the recordings from my iPad (the first single included pressing the record button and then having to run around to play the drums). Thankfully nowadays we have great bandmates so it’s more conventional.
Jet-setting with Jetstream Pony; press photo courtesy of the band.
I guess you could say our band manifesto is just to make great music we like, though with some experimenting which you’ll hear on the album. It’s all about what sounds like fun. This allows us to be open to different ideas, processes, and even having guests on the album, like doing a song with Eleni Poulou from The Fall or even having other band members like our bassist Kerry bringing in songs. “Bubblegum” is a straight slice of power-pop that’s fun to play, taking our influences from everywhere, just running with it. It's about fun first and everyone having a good time.
Jetstream Pony’s new album Bowerbirds and Blue Things arrives March 28 via Shelflife Records & Spinout Nuggets.
