There is a subtle but crucial difference between a live radio session that merely preserves a moment and one that actively reanimates it. The former functions as archival evidence; the latter, as an artistic declaration in its own right. Jetstream Pony’s ‘Riley & Coe Session 09.04.25’ falls firmly into the second category. Across four tracks, captured for BBC Radio 6 Music and issued as a limited vinyl pressing by Precious Recordings of London, the band present performances that feel neither rehearsed for posterity nor casually tossed off. Instead, this session radiates the charged intimacy of musicians fully inhabiting their material, alive to the possibilities of reinterpretation.
Over the past decade, Jetstream Pony have steadily refined a sound that braids post-punk’s tensile discipline with the luminous pull of indie pop and dreamier textures. What makes this session compelling is not novelty but re-contextualization. Freed from the layered precision of the studio, the band lean into immediacy, paring arrangements down to their essential gestures while sharpening their emotional impact. The performances feel deliberate yet unguarded, propelled by the knowledge that the moment is fleeting and therefore demands total commitment. There is no sense of correction or polish; what remains is clarity of intent.
The opening cut, “Bubblegum Nothingness,” exemplifies this recalibration. Familiar from the band’s most recent album ‘Bowerbirds and Blue Things’ (Spinout Nuggets / Shelflife Records, 2025), it arrives here with tightened momentum and heightened contrast. Guitars ring with clean definition, their chiming figures cutting through the mix without smoothing over the song’s underlying tension. The rhythm section of Kerry Boettcher (bass) and Hannes Müller (drums), meanwhile, nudges the track forward with quiet insistence, lending it a kinetic pulse that resists nostalgia. What might once have felt dreamlike now feels alert and urgent, poised between reflective sweetness and forward drive.
That sense of purposeful evolution is particularly striking when the band revisit earlier material. First released on debut single ‘Like You Less’ (Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten, 2017), “Had Enough” sheds any lingering roughness without sacrificing intensity. The raw, almost scrappy energy of the original recording is transformed into something more controlled yet no less forceful. It’s a performance that speaks to growth rather than revisionism: the song’s core remains intact, but the band now possess the confidence to let restraint do some of the work. Each element, vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, operates in balance, reinforcing a collective identity that feels fully settled without becoming rigid.
The remaining tracks, “Only If You Want To” and “Bonanza 2 Tango Sierra,” highlight Jetstream Pony’s aptitude for occupying the space where melody and angularity coexist. These songs shimmer, but never drift; their hooks are buoyant yet grounded by rhythmic interplay that retains a slight looseness, allowing the performances to expand. There is a sense of conversational movement between instruments, as though the band are actively listening to one another in real time. Vocally, both Beth Arzy and Shaun Charman’s delivery oscillates between introspective calm and open-hearted enthusiasm, adding emotional dimension without tipping into self-consciousness.
What ultimately distinguishes ‘Riley & Coe Session 09.04.25’ is its refusal to behave like a footnote. Rather than functioning as supplementary material for completists, it reads as a concise manifesto—an articulation of where Jetstream Pony currently stand and what continues to drive them. The session captures a band in full command of their craft, able to honor the urgency of live performance while subtly expanding the contours of their songwriting.
The record underscores the value of attentive listening. It rewards focus, revealing details that might otherwise pass unnoticed in the flux of broadcast. More importantly, it affirms Jetstream Pony’s ability to mature without dulling their edge. This is music that thrives on presence and precision in equal measure, offering the thrill of in-the-moment execution alongside the deeper satisfaction of songs built to endure.
Releases February 6, 2026
Learn more here: Bandcamp | Facebook | Precious Recordings of London
