Jetstream Pony & OZ Projekt - Hard Club, Porto (SUSPEITOS)

Os Suspeitos presented British post-punk indie pop band, Jetstream Pony, on Saturday 5th March at Hard Club, Porto. Playing their very first gig in Portugal, the schrammelig post punk and indie-pop played a 13 song set, Supported by Portuguese band, the OZ Projekt, who started the night, powerful vocals on tracks “The Day I Come Back” and “Fire” and closed their set with an explosive cover of Echo & the Bunnymen’s Lips Like Sugar. 

Jetstream Pony are based in Brighton and Croydon and its members hail from the UK, the USA and Germany. The group comprises Beth Arzy on vocals, (also in The Luxembourg Signal and Lightning in the Twilight Hour), Shaun Charman on guitar (also in Wedding Present), Kerry Boettcher on bass and new Hannes Mueller on drums. 

The band, which lifts its name from a retired greyhound racing dog, played to a full house at Hard Club. Initially planned for April 2021 but postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Saturday’s gig in Porto was not only their first ever gig in Portugal but also marked a reunion for the band. Before that night, the group hadn’t played together live for 2 years.

The post punk quartet began their set with fantastic fuzzy guitar pop tracks “Seven Days”,  and “Courses for Obstacles” from their November 2021 EP: Misplaced Words. Cool yet aloof front woman Beth Arzy’s vocals are dreamy and nostalgic and, together with her aloof demeanour and dry humour between songs, seem effortless. When switching between tambourine and maracas, she told the crowd at Hard Club that  “Porto is a beautiful, brilliant city… but what’s with all the hills?!” Going on to play “It’s Fine”, a track that boasts a killer guitar riff and bittersweet vocals on the lyrics “we’ll find our way (your way again)/what can I say (your way again)/ don’t you think you’ve said enough?, the band treated Hard Club to killer guitar riffs and melody-driven power pop. Jetstream Pony’s style is reminiscent of mid-80s post-punk and indie pop, a timeless sound that does not date. It’s dreamy psychedelia at its very best. 
After raising the energy with “If Not Now, When?”, a fabulous bass line, the group went on to play the popular “Self-Destruct Reality”, featuring lyrics “leave the world outside/inside it’s my self-destruct reality” over fuzzy guitar and danceable bass and drums. An encore heard the band’s first 7″ single “Like You Less” / “Had Enough”, originally recorded on an iPad in Shaun’s bedroom, and which later got played on BBC 6 Music. 

For true indie souls who enjoy killer guitar riffs, nostalgic, bittersweet female vocals and bass you can dance to, Jetstream Pony will not disappoint. The band’s new mini-LP, “Misplaced Words”, is out now. Let Jetstream Pony’s fuzzy bass and dreamy, effortless female vocals be the soundtrack to wistful days.

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TXT: KGL
Photo: Diogo Baptista