Chipper Jones

Although Austin is not a city known for its experimental pop and instrumental post-rock, such as that created by duo Chipper Jones, the genre does have a presence and a precedent in this town. When reflecting on the genre, I always think back to Austin band Cue, who played out frequently when I was just beginning to be immersed in Austin’s music scene almost a decade ago. Just this weekend, instrumental band Equals celebrated the release of an album, and tomorrow night, like-minded band Chipper Jones will celebrate the release of a new record, Two Rooms, with a show at Cheer Up Charlies. The bill also features notable Austin bands Couduroi, Milezo, and Museo.

Ahead of this album release show, the band has shared a new video for “amarillo/headrush,” which is premiering today, here on Pop Press International. The video was filmed by Riley Engemoen and features footage of the duo performing the song at Big Orange Studios. “amarillo/headrush” typifies the fluttering, minimalist post-rock found across the ten tracks that comprise Two Rooms. Watch the video for the song below, and find out more about Chipper Jones’ release show here. - Pop Press International

After we caught the Attendance Records benefit show at Holy Mountain, we were able to swing by Cheer Up Charlies to catch the tail end of a set by instrumental pop act Chipper Jones. We premiered a video from their new album last week and were glad to be able to catch a bit of the live show. The duo plays a math-rock influenced brand of pop music, but maintains a smooth minimalism that makes the songs accessible.

As with many young bands, their talent is more apparent in a live setting than recorded. As much as recording has been made accessible and economically viable for young bands, a gap still exists between professional and DIY recordings. Even though we were drawn into the recordings from Chipper Jones’ new album, their live show offers even greater depth. We’re also encouraged by seeing a band create music that falls far from the majority of music being created not just locally but nationally. These busy, flourishing arrangements are full of life. - Pop Press International

Ready for something a bit different? Well sit back and let Chipper Jones wash over you. The Texas duo have a 10 track EP (I'm letting this one slide for reasons I can't explain) which starts with the organ chillout of 'Sketch 1: Chautauqua' leading in to 'Scout (live)' which immediately picks up the pace as staccato guitars dance with clicky percussion and crazy little electro bleeps. 'Sketch 2: Rhombus' is up next and those perky little guitars keep coming like Dutch Uncles' younger brother without the daily dose of Ritalin. The guitars on 'Riverburn (live)' are, frankly, mental but in the best kinda way while 'Sketch Three: Movements' is a more mellow affair that reminds me of the criminally underrated Ions In the Ether.

This is experimental, instrumental stuff created by two guys who clearly have a connection on a creative level but like guys making each other laugh in bars, the joke is never as funny when explained to another and the badly recorded spoken word of 'Wild Senna' is a great example of this. 'Sketch Four: Warm' is a summery afternoon of rippling keys leading in to 'Sketch Five: Two Rooms', a real dawn chorus of a melody played on a piano with lashings of delay. Now, this might lose something in translation but the next song up is 'Amarillo' (no, not that one) which drifts out of the speakers like dusk in the Grand Canyon before the final track, 'Headrush', brings back those rippling guitars that behave like flitting bugs. The reason I can forgive a 10 track collection being termed an EP is that half the tracks are like long intros to the other half but it works incredibly well and creates sumptuous sound scapes to die for. - Listen With Monger

Chipper Jones is one of a growing number of intriguing post-rock bands based out of Austin. What separates them from many of their peers, though, is their taste in irresistible rhythms, specifically the impressive drum work of Charlie Martin. Martin creates complex patterns and arrangements, but he’s the rare technical drummer who isn’t flashy, instead sacrificing flair for graceful, subtle flourishes and movements. Riley Engemoen’s video for “Amarillo/Headrush” wisely emphasizes the duo’s live sound constructions, focusing on the clear love of playing Chipper Jones has, and their devotion to setting a groove and riding it out for a relatively brief burst, leaving you wanting more rather than making you drowsily seek some other musical offering. The band’s Two Rooms EP is similarly devoted to showing off the live Chipper Jones experience, pairing studio soundscapes with straight presentations of live performances but be sure to check them out live yourself, they’ll be at Empire Control Room on August 16th for Vagabond Collective’s Summer Nights Finale. - Ovrld

Atmospheric duo, Chipper Jones kicked off promoter, Vagabond Collective's last summer show with a spellbinding performance. Guitarist, James Lambrecht layered multiple tracks over each other then played yet another guitar part while drummer, Charlie Martin operated a synthesizer and simultaneously produced hypnotic beats on a traditional drum kit draped with a towel to dampen the sound. Coupled with the projections covering the walls of the venue, the music Chippper Jones played bordered on psychedelic while maintaining a certain etheral quality.

Examiner caught the duo just before they headed out on tour a couple months ago at the Red, White and Blue Ball. Saturday night the pair were making their return home. The performance found the duo tour hardened into a formidable machine. The audience stood tranfixed as the show progressed. It was easy to see how the recent spate of shows had sharpened an already fantastic band into something greater.

Local blog, The Cosmic Clash captured over 15 minutes of video of Chipper Jones' set. After you have experienced chasm of sonic delight the duo sweeps listeners over in the video, proceed on to our recap of femme-popsters, Yum who pleased on the patio stage following the opening set. - Austin Concerts Examiner

Austin indie duo Chipper Jones is little more than a year old, but the musical collaboration has been a lifetime in the making.

Guitarist James Lambrecht and drummer Charlie Martin grew up on the same block in their hometown of Dallas, one that Martin describes as an “old-school, romantic kind of upbringing” where all the families become more than neighbors — a tight-knit community. Their families were friends, as were Lambrecht and Martin, if not exceptionally close. But when Lambrecht’s family shipped down to Austin, the relationship seemed dead.

The two would bump into each other again a decade later at the University of Texas and continued to do so, as their friends and musical exploits overlapped at venues and bars around Austin.

Eventually, the childhood buds decided to accept their destiny and jam together.

“We met up and played together and just hit it off immediately,” Martin said. “We landed on such similar interests but different aspects thereof. It made for this perfect partnership.”

As friends and bandmates, they are more of an odd couple than identical twins. The two share a similar background and affinity for organic electronic music and post-rock, and each one’s approach is different yet complementary.

“What he does is very technical, this layered looping and very precise, intricate style of playing. I’m more primal and minimal, this sort of tropical influence,”

Martin said. “That’s the sound we started to cultivate — making something that is accessible but could be seen as more leftfield. The words math rock and post-rock get thrown around, but it’s a different kind of balance.”

It makes for a sound that is wholly familiar but, arguably, unique to Chipper Jones, blending sweeping instrumentals with the lush, forest-floor bounce of Youth Lagoon.

The best comparison might be to fellow Austin act Explosions in the Sky. But while Explosions drew its sound out of the dramatic, football-filled Texas nights (as heard in Friday Night Lights — both the movie and TV show), Chipper Jones is informed by a different sport. Martin played a season of college baseball and has a stepbrother playing for the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate. He’s also good friends with Atlanta Braves catcher Evan Gattis, explaining the band playfully being named after the retired, MVP-winning Braves third baseman.

“I was never that into him as a player, but I loved that name,” Martin said. “James had this romantic idea of Chipper Jones being this all-American type of guy, and we have always been influenced by Explosions in the Sky, so there was this great kind of parallelism there.”

That connection can be heard on Two Rooms, the duo’s debut EP featuring a few singles, a collection of improvised interludes and a soundscape all tracked live and released in April.

“It’s a different thing for a band like us to do,” Martin said, noting the next album would be a standard, multitrack recording. “You’d expect a folk band to put out a live album, but maybe not so much an instrumental pop group. And we like doing things differently.” - Oklahoma Gazette

Earlier this week, instrumentally-focused math rock bands Chipper Jones and Cleanup played at Cheer Up Charlie’s. Both bands are part of a current trend that’s seeing a revival of styles of indie rock that peaked in the late 90s and early 2000s. Many will be thrilled to see this style of intricate, complex rock increasing in popularity once again. And it’s great to see even further diversity within our already multi-faceted Texas music scene. Both bands are incredibly enjoyable live, thanks in part to the nature of the style of music they play, dominated by fingers working fretboards with fury and relentless percussionists. - Pop Press International

Chipper Jones consists of friends James Lambrecht and Charlie Martin. Together, they create melodic, mostly instrumental songs reminiscent of Delicate Steve. James contributes a few vocal accents here and there, but the focus lies on the diverse and dulcet tones that emerge from drums, guitar and a touch of synthesizer.

The pair recently released the ten song EP Two Rooms, recorded in two days at Big Orange Studio. The album consists of live recordings – the band’s primary focus, plus five improvised sketches, highlighting how good this duo can be in the moment. “Sketch Five: Two Rooms Live” at almost 11 minutes, really lets you dive deep while the soundscape “Wild Senna” at just over a minute, shows off Chipper Jones’ playful, experimental side. The pace really picks up on “Scout” which inspires, at minimum, foot tapping if not full on groovin’.

Give Two Rooms a listen and get lost in the melodies. - Gillian Driscoll - The Deli Magazine