Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires, Jetstream Pony & Railcard at The Water Rats London 9th July 2026

 

This was another very special (but swelteringly hot) night at The Water Rats in Kings Cross in the company of Skep Wax Records, who were hosting the launch party for their fantastic new "Pets Sounds" compilation LP. I was lucky in that I managed to grab the very last copy of the album on vinyl from the night's stock, and it really is a superb collection of mainly animal and pet-themed songs by bands from the Skep Wax stable (sorry about the terrible animal-themed pun there...) such as Railcard, Jetstream Pony and Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires, who all played full sets on the night and Sassyhiya, Swansea Sound and Gay Skeleton Club who all got up as special guests and performed a song each. Skep Wax is run by Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey from Indie-Pop legends, Heavenly and not content with being in at least three bands at the moment, they seem determined to promote and release records by as many of their favourite bands as possible, most of which are currently making waves, in particular The Cords and Special Friend are starting to break through to a wider audience.

 

 

Tonight, Railcard open proceedings with their delightful, beautifully crafted songs, as you would expect from the involvement of former Dolly Mixture, Rachel Love. Rachel takes on lead vocals and guitars with Ian Button on drums, Peter Momtchiloff on bass and Allison Thomson on keyboards, trumpet and generally looking very cool, despite the heat. They played a couple of excellent new songs including "Foxy", which features on the "Pets Sounds" album and "Two Steps at a Time", the title track of their forthcoming album which is due out in September. The band have just announced an afternoon matinee launch party for the LP at The Lexington in London on Sunday September 20th and it seems really interesting, as not only is former Raincoat, Gina Birch the special guest, there will also be an Indie-label record fair in the downstairs bar. You can get tickets for this from We Got Tickets and I wouldn't hang around, as demand for this is surely going to be very high. As I have written on the Blog before, I love Railcard, there is just something so likeable about the band and their life-affirming songs that grabs you by the heartstrings. My favourite "Northern Soul Dancing" with Ian on lead vocals, is a fantastic number and I love the sentiment behind the lyrical theme of yearning to let yourself go, to throw yourself into frenzied dancing without a care in the world. I am really looking forward to the new album and especially the launch party gig in September which promises to be very special indeed.

 

Next up is Jetstream Pony, who I must confess I'd never seen play live before, despite being a fan for a long time and playing some of their early releases in episodes of our Retrosonic Podcast. They didn't disappoint, in fact I'd go so far as saying that they exceeded expectations, and they went down really well with the crowd. Lead vocalist Beth Arzy is an engaging presence up front with an easy humour and a wonderful voice and she makes light of the heat while bombarding the crowd with stuffed cat toys. While they are probably more known for their releases on another of our favourite labels, Spinout Nuggets, they have contributed a track to the "Pets Sounds" compilation called "Grimalkin Tom" which they play tonight and it's a prime example of their trademark shimmering wall of sound. This is mainly down to the twin guitars of Shaun Charman, formerly of The Wedding Present and Mark Matthews who was in The Dentists and that's some pedigree there for sure. Their interplay is superb which is somewhat ironic though, because as far as I know neither were guitarists in their former bands, but you'd never know it and I really love the riffs and textures that they conjure up. 

      

 

The foundation of any band is of course the rhythm section and drummer Tom Levesley impresses, but I'm completeley blown away by bassist Kerry Boettcher - and I mean that quite literally as I was standing in front of her amp! I might be biased, what with me being a bassist and all that, but she has an immense bass sound - think of "Blindness" by The Fall or "Toiler on The Sea" by The Stranglers or "Research Chemicals" by Viagra Boys and then crank it all up a notch and you might come close. The band play a set comprising mostly of songs from their excellent current album "Bowerbirds and Blue Things" and Beth gives a shout out to Buddy Ascott, former drummer with The Chords (who I happen to be with at the gig) as apparently he was the one who came up with the title. He jokingly tries to use this sudden boost in prestige to get a discount off the album at the merch desk, but I think the young guy behind the counter looks a bit panicked at Buddy's "do you know who I am, I named the album!" line (just kidding!). Hard to pick out specific highlights as the set was full of them, but "Bubblegum Nothingness” really stood out as one of my personal favourites. At one point they are joined on stage by Amelia Fletcher for the spoken word parts on "The Relativity of Wrong", which was originally performed by Eleni Poulou of The Fall on the album itself, and they end with the 'classic' "Had Enough". It was a brilliant set and I kicked myself for not managing to see them before, sometimes these things just happen but I certainly hope I can catch them play again soon.

Unfortunately, due to chatting outside the venue while trying to get some fresh air, I missed most of the special guest appearances but made it back inside to catch the brilliant "Compilation Cassette" by Brian Bilston & The Catenary Wires. The Catenary Wires are Amelia, Rob and Ian Button and last year they teamed up with the author and poet Brian Bilston for the album "Sounds Made By Humans" to put music and melodies to Brian Bilston's observant, humorous poetry and spoken word musings on the minutiae of modern life. The album works remarkably well from all aspects, the songs themselves are enough to satisfy anyone who initially might not be that keen on poetry but the delivery and humour of the words is really the key. I think if you love The Blue Aeroplanes then you will love this album. Tonight they are joined by Dentists/Swansea Sound guitarist Bob Collins who adds some sublime sounds from his Rickenbacker. But back to "Compilation Cassette" and any romantic music fan will understand the pre-digital age love letter of a painstakingly compiled TDK-C90, in which each song was chosen to say the things you couldn't bring yourself to say. It's a beautiful song that strangely reminds me of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" and Rob's warm voice contrasts nicely with Brian Bilston's spoken words. Other songs/poems such as "The Interview" and the brilliant "31 Rules For Midlife Rebellion" really strike a chord with those of us of a certain age and I can see lots of knowing smiles around me in the crowd. Regretfully, I couldn't stay for the whole set due to problems on the trains, I didn't want a repeat of the two hour journey from hell up into London on the way home too. A real shame, as I was enjoying the set so much and I hope the project doesn't end with just the one album. I've certainly become a big fan of Brian Bilston's poems now and I look forward to investigating some of his books too.

 

I really love what Rob and Amelia are doing with Skep Wax, and whilst not all of the bands on the label are to my own musical taste, they have no doubt created a wonderfully inclusive and diverse roster with a real identity. It's a truly Independent label with all the values that I have loved going back to my old days in bands and doing fanzines and cassette labels in the early to mid-80's, that DIY spirit of postivity and mutual cooperation. It's refreshing and inspiring in these often negative and cynical times, it's certainly hard to beat.

For more videos please head on over to our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here and like/subscribe, it's free!

 

Retro Man Blog's 25 Favourite Albums of 2025

Happy New Year to all Retro Man Blog supporters, subscribers and contributors. Here's our favourite 25 Albums of 2025, another great year for new music...

1. The Liminanas "Faded"

2 . Mandrake Handshake "Earth Sized Worlds"

3. The Minus 5 "Oar On, Penelope

4. WitchDoktors "Izzatso?"

5. Viagra Boys "Viagr Aboys"

6. David Byrne "Who Is The Sky?"

7. WITCH "Sogolo" 

8. Oh! Gunquit "Flex"

9. Sparks "MAD!"

10. The Penrose Web "The Least of Our Concerns"

11. Spiders "Sharp Objects"

12. Jetstream Pony "Bowerbirds and Blue Things"

13. Stereolab "Instant Holograms On Metal Film"

14. The Hives "The Hives Forever Forever The Hives"

15. Robert Forster "Strawberries"

16. The Guy Hamper Trio "Volume IV: The Goddess Tree"

17. Luke Haines & Peter Buck "Going Down To The River To Blow My Mind"

18. The Phobics "Gimme Cyanide"

19. Pink Nun "Pink Nun"

20. John McKay's Reactor "Sixes And Sevens"

21. The Capellas "Untamed"

22. MIEN "MIIEN"

23. Palooka 5 "MetroKino"

24. Paper Lips "Melodic Melancholic"

25. Proper "Meant To Say Something"

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 53 "Play It Cool" featuring 20 superb new releases from Jah Wobble, Pascal Comelade & The Limiñanas, Elephant Stone, Jim Jones All Stars and more...

Welcome to Episode 53 of Retrosonic Podcast, featuring 20 superb new songs by some of our favourite international Bands and Artists from as far afield as Canada, Sardinia, France, America, Sweden, Indonesia, the U.K. and Turkey. The episode is out now so please search and subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast at Spotify, iTunes, Apple Podcasts or direct from our SoundCloud site below: 

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 53 "Play It Cool"

Tracklisting & Links

Big Boss Man "Do The Backstroke"

Jim Jones All Stars "Gimme The Grease"

Melody Fields "In Love"

Jah Wobble (featuring Jon Klein) "Fashion World"

Pascal Comelade & The Limiñanas "Le Riffifi Brille en Jaune"

Pete International Airport (featuring Rachel Goswell) "Tic Tac" (Anton Newcombe Remix)

Elephant Stone "Lost In a Dream"

Les Kitschenette's "Breuvage del Amor"

Crayola Eyes "Blacker Than Coal"

Jetstream Pony "Sixes & Sevens"

Hipbone Slim & The Kneejerks "Hey Catalina"

Gaye Su Akyol "Love Buzz"

def.fo "Play It Cool"

Spiders "Hanging On The Telephone"

Palooka 5 "Chetsworth Motel"

The Sound of Pop Art "Beach Life"

The Hangee 5 "Never Have You Ever"

Tiny Flaws (featuring Florence Joelle) "Hazy Recollection"

The Masonics "It's Time That I Moved On"

The Guy Hamper Trio "Cowboys Are Square"

Please click on the highlighted band names above for links to their official web-sites for further information and details on how to purchase the excellent music featured in this episode. For more details on our featured record label, Spinout Nuggets, please check out their official web-site here and their Bandcamp site here.

Allie Beaudouin's new book "Between It All" is available from Amazon here. You can see the live video of Allie joining dad Mick Head on stage in Tokyo for a superb version of "Broken Beauty" from the Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band album "Dear Scott" at our YouTube channel here. 

Thanks to all featured Bands and Record Companies, Lee from Spinout Nuggets, Shauna from Shameless Promotions, John Johnson and of course all listeners and subscribers. The Retrosonic Podcast archive is available at SoundCloud, Spotify, iTunes and Apple Podcasts. It would be very much appreciated if you could please like, subscribe, follow and share. Many thanks! This episode's cover star: Tom Powell of def.fo Photo Copyright: John Johnson For more details on John Johnson's excellent photography, which includes cover art for Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band, please check out his Facebook page here.

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 45 "Waking Up The Band" New Release Special with Wet Leg, The Bug Club, Jamie Perrett, Monkey, The Senior Service and More...

Podcover Photo by Roger Degerman

Happy Xmas and a big thank you to all Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcast subscribers and listeners, we really do appreciate the support. After all, this is just a hobby to promote some of the fantastic bands, artists and independent record labels that are keeping us all entertained in these difficult times so your continued support is what makes it all worthwhile. Anyway, I sincerely hope you've enjoyed the music and hopefully you've discovered some new favourite bands along the way! So here's a little Xmas gift to say "thank you" - our latest Retrosonic Podcast which features 21 superb brand new and recent international releases from Brazil, Sweden, Wales, USA, Canada, Taiwan, UK, France and Japan with some previously unreleased exclusive songs as a little bonus especially for you. So pour yourself a drink, crank up the volume, sit back and enjoy some quality sounds from The Senior Service (feat. Rachel Lowrie), Wet Leg, The Bug Club, Jamie Perrett, Yufu, Les Envahisseurs, Howlin' Jaws, Los Pepes, The Galileo 7, Jetstream Pony, Stupidity (feat. Keith Streng of The Fleshtones), The Most, Cat & The Underdogs, Autoramas, Monkey (The Adicts frontman's solo project), Suzi Moon, The Heat Inc, Kuunatic, Keller Machine, AlterModerns and Sounds Incarcerated.

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 45 "Waking Up The Band"

 Here's the full tracklisting - please click on the highlighted links to investigate further...

The Bug Club - "My Baby Loves Rock & Roll Music"

Yufu - "Bad Intentions" (Coral Collective/Sunset Rollercoaster)

Les Envahisseurs - "Invisible" (Exclusive unreleased track)

Jamie Perrett - "Angel of Santiago"

Howlin' Jaws - "Love Makes The World Go Round"

Wet Leg - "Wet Dream"

Los Pepes - "I Want You Back" (Black Wax Records)

The Senior Service (feat. Rachel Lowrie) - "If You're Not There" 

(Exclusive unreleased track courtesy Damaged Goods)

The Galileo 7 - "Ella" (Spinout Nuggets Records)

Jetstream Pony - "Seven Days" (Spinout Nuggets Records)

Stupidity (feat. Keith Streng of The Fleshtones) - "Waking Up The Band"

The Most - "Fighting Man" (Exclusive unreleased track)

Cat & The Underdogs - "Positive I.D."

Autoramas - "Dia Da Marmota"

Monkey (The Adicts frontman's debut solo record) - "Sharkbite" (Dr. Strange Records)

Suzi Moon - "I'm Not A Man"

The Heat Inc. - "Down In The City"

KUUNATIC - "Full Moon Spree" (Glitterbeat Records)

AlterModerns - "She's Not Yours"

Keller Machine - "(I'm In Love With A) Monster"

Sounds Incarcerated - "Space Xmas" 

Proceeds from Sounds Incarcerated's "Space Xmas" on Bandcamp go to Shelter U.K.

Additional Links:

Write Wyatt Blog (Beth from Jetstream Pony interview)

Monk's Junk (Monkey's Art web-site)

Nymphet Noodlers - The Story of one of Sweden's most influential yet underrated bands

This Episode's Cover Stars The Most photographed by Roger Degerman. Retrosonic Theme by Adam Donovan. Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS Licence. You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast for free at Spotify, Soundcloud, iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or Mixcloud.

Retrosonic Podcast Episode 41 "Nosferatu Elegant Debauchery" featuring Baby Shakes, Oh! Gunquit, 5 Billion in Diamonds, Autoramas, The Len Price 3, Spizzenergi & More

Cover Star Wanda De Lullabies by Steve Vonlanthen

Welcome to "Nosferatu Elegant Debuchery", episode 41 of Retrosonic Podcast and it's another totally non-retro show featuring some more superb new music. As it's going to be our last episode of 2020 I'd like to say a huge thank you to all those who have contributed to the Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcasts during this extremely tough year, in particular my colleague the 'legendary' Rock Photographer Paul Slattery, Ms Sheringham-Boom, Amy K-B, Mayumi and Adam Donovan. I still find it hard to believe that since the lockdown started in March, I've managed to release four whole episodes solely dedicated to brand new releases and I have nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for all those Bands, Artists and DJ's that put aside the incredible disappointment of not being able to perform live and channelled it into some absolutely fantastic records and/or on-line broadcasts that kept us all entertained. Also, to the record companies such as Spinout Nuggets, Dimple Discs, Damaged Goods and many more that made a lot of the records possible. I also thoroughly enjoyed doing the twelve episodes of the Lockdown Lowdown series too and massive thanks to my very special guests, Damian O'Neill of The Undertones/That Petrol Emotion/The Everlasting Yeah, Mary, Judy & Claudia of Baby Shakes, Duncan Reid of The Boys/Big Heads, Raymond Gorman of That Petrol Emotion/The Everlasting Yeah, Buddy Ascott of The Chords/Fallen Leaves, Mike & Elsa from The Jack Cades, Leigh Heggarty of Ruts DC/The Price, Ian Person of The Soundtrack of Our Lives/Pablo Matisse, Allan Crockford & Viv Bonsels from The Galileo 7, Ian Greensmith of The Dentists/Armitage Shanks and DJ Jawa Jones of Wanita Music. All of the episodes are still available at our Soundcloud site here. I hope you enjoyed listening to them as much as I did making them. Actually, as the lockdown looks set to continue and I have lots more interesting special guests on the wait-list, I might well do some more episodes in the New Year. Finally, huge thanks and cheers to all the regular readers/subscribers/listeners to Retro Man Blog and Retrosonic Podcast, it is very much appreciated and I hope to see you at a gig somewhere, sometime in 2021. So, pour yourself a drink, turn up the volume, sit back and enjoy Episode 41!

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 41 "Nosferatu Elegant Debauchery"

Track-listing

Groovy Uncle (featuring Miss Modus) "The Man Who Calls The Shots"

5 Billion in Diamonds (featuring Ebbot Lundberg) "Weight of The World"

Baby Shakes "Sweet & Sour"

Oh! Gunquit "Attack of The Killer Cranes"

Autoramas "Boneco"

The Len Price 3 "Weekend Hippies"

The In-Fuzzed "Lost Time Rock 'n' Roll"

The Ace "Nosferatu Seduction" 

Jetstream Pony "If Not Now, When?"

The Dupont Circles "Everywhere Girl"

OHMS "Horizon Lines"

Keller Machine "The Sink"

The Nettelles "You Lied To Me Before"

The Know Escape "The Eyes of Angel Blake"

Eileen Gogan & The Instructions "More Time"

Dragon Welding "Lights Behind The Eyes"

Hederosgruppen "Protokoll För Bohemer"

Mattias Bärjed "Jakten På en Mördare Intro"

Ian Person "Forever"

Jonny Magus & The Bursting Bubbles "Melody Delight"

Dirt Royal "Lose Our Way"

Human Toys "He Said Yeah"

The Folk Devils "Forever"

Spizzenergi "Christmas In Denmark Street"

Please click the highlighted link above to check out more information on the featured bands and more importantly, how to buy their lovely records. This episode's cover star Wanda De Lullabies photographed by Steve Vonlanthen. Title from "Nosferatu Seduction" by The Ace. Retrosonic Theme Tune by Adam Donovan. Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS Licence. You can subscribe to Retrosonic at Soundcloud, iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Mixcloud and we are now at Spotify - please subscribe/follow so you don't miss an episode!

Jetstream Pony "If Not Now, When?" - Ms Sheringham-Boom on Their Excellent New 7" Single on Spinout Nuggets

Jetstream Pony, a four piece from Brighton/Croydon, make a sound synonymous with my teenage years, when indie music really was indie, John Peel was god (kind of), and the NME was still worth the paper it was printed on. "If Not Now, When?" greets you with a bouncy bassline, lots of guitar-riffing, and is frustratingly short and (bitter) sweet. The opposing female vs male vocal style (think a post-punk version of Sinatra & Hazelwood) conglomerate to make this a refreshing shot of dopamine which will help to keep us afloat through the final months of 2020. From naturally induced neurotransmitters to the flipside; a cover of 20/20’s "Yellow Pills" which presents as a shambolic poppy-psyche slice of happy bunny kitty pony loveliness. Clearly, it’s not that straightforward, as the title suggests. JP’s take on this unofficial power-pop anthem (thanks Google!) is preferable to this listener’s ears than the original at least, and I’m off for a chemically induced dance around the kitchen. Whilst JP make undeniable nods to various nostalgic touchstones, their sound feels timeless. ‘Schrammelig’ as those in the know say. 

- Ms Sheringham-Boom, November 2020.

You can order the record from Spinout Nuggets or the band's own Bandcamp site here. For more information on Jetstream Pony please check out their official Facebook page here. Thank you to Ms Sheringham Boom. Please click the highlighted links for further information. Ms Sheringham-Boom is the bassist in Edinburgh's premier purveyors of Garage Rock, Thee Girl Fridays. 

Jetstream Pony "Self Destruct Reality" EP launch at The Finsbury Friday 13th July by David Leach

Jetstream Pony "Self Destruct Reality" EP

Drama from the very start. I exit Manor House tube station and am greeted by a thunderstorm - the first rain in the city for weeks. I make a dash for it to The Finsbury pub where tonight’s gig is taking place, but am soon to discover that this is not the only electrically-charged moment of the evening as its pointed out that, during the sound check, the band had been experiencing a little more electricity through their microphones than they were comfortable with. The problems appeared to have been resolved before show time and, thankfully, a ‘self-destruct reality’ is averted! Jetstream Pony are the first band on tonight in what is a four act line up, I am guessing they are a late addition to the bill as having heard their music they strike me as a band who could  probably anticipate being higher up the pecking order .They appear to be on a bit of a roll at the moment as they have been played on BBC radio twice this week, and have gained a few admiring comments in the music media (plus an endorsement from a leading light in the world of indie music) and it is apparent as they take the stage there are a fair few more people than you would normally anticipate being at a show for the first band.

Jetstream Pony Photo by David Leach

The set opens with ‘Not The One’, a track from their new five song EP. Their sound is powerful, immediate and direct. It has something of a commercial, outward looking indie aspect, with not a shamble or a shoe-gaze in sight. I wouldn’t go quite as far as describing it as ‘Power Pop’ as such as, lyrically, there appear to be deeper, and sometimes darker, undercurrents that you wouldn’t associate with that genre. There is, however, certainly a punk bite in the thick bass lines and searing guitar and the tunes are without doubt proper melodic earworms. As the set progresses, they play another track from new EP called ‘Out Of Reach’. Kerry Boettcher’s elongated, jagged bass line intro launches the song; it’s met with Sara Boyle’s metronomic powerful drum beat, Shaun Charman’s chiming guitar joins in echoing the bass line, while Beth Arzy’s cool tuneful vocal gives the sound brightness. This song gets a real groove going and I feel that it’s at this point that the set really starts to take shape and, more importantly, the ‘first band on’ sound issues have dissipated. 

Jetstream Pony Photo by David Leach

‘Zipwire’ is another from the EP; it is the fastest in their set and one can imagine how the track got its title as it’s a pure ‘adrenaline rush’ song. Singer Beth said that the lyrics at the end of the song were influenced by some lyrics by The Dentists although she is reticent to say which one! As a fellow fan of the same band, I would suggest that if you peer behind the door where they keep their universe you will find the answer there. For me the highlight of the set is the lead track on the new EP, ‘Self-Destruct Reality’ - a classic, bitter sweet pop song with a dark side to the lyrics which suggest the public face hides inner feelings of a lack of control. This is wrapped up in a fabulous repeating-patterned guitar melody –which could just be the aural equivalent of the artwork on the band’s single - that weaves through the song, breaking into waves of riffs while the band power on around it. It sounds great on record but, live, it really sounds quite anthemic! Sadly, I have to leave The Finsbury at the end of the Jetstream Pony set and haven’t caught the other artists on the “Get into Her Ears” bill. I have been to The Finsbury before and note that it does have a particular focus on promoting female artists as my last visit was also for an all- girl ‘folk-inspired’ line up. Around that time, I remember seeing a picture of an imagined female-dominated festival bill that was created in response to overwhelmingly male festival line ups. Summing up tonight’s performance, it occurs to me that Jetstream Pony would be a fine band to add to this imaginary bill.

Jetstream Pony Photo by David Leach

You can order the "Self Destruct Reality" EP from the Jetstream Pony Bandcamp site here or check out more information on forthcoming gigs and news at the band's Facebook page here. With many thanks to David for the review and photos.

Jetstream Pony Photo by Alia Halstead, design by Kenji