Even though they’ve only been around for a few years, Right Chipper has established a name for themselves in the DC math rock scene, particularly as a project that brings more to the table than meets the eye. Sure, it’s identifiably modern math on the surface, but there’s such a consistent level of depth and intention that it can’t help but command available ears.
Guitarist Knox Engler has always been an undeniably talented guitar player in the style of bands like Floral or standards, but the time he’s put in with Right Chipper has seen him incorporate a lot more than shred. At this point, Right Chipper is almost more in line with emotional heavy-hitters like Snooze and A.M. Overcast.
There’s hints of all of the above on The Chip, and maybe that’s why this feels like such a cohesive adventure. Hell, you could even call this one more of a journey as it dips even further into Tosin Abasi territory on tracks like “Mycelium,” which we’ve embedded below.
Lucas Kirby’s drums are also a highlight throughout, at times using sort of a broken, but extremely effective style that doesn’t just complement, but adds to what Knox is doing. It gives your ears two distinct places to be simultaneously while attending the same party. And what a party it is.
It’s also great to see this sort of duality for the band where some tracks are ripping instrumentals and others have vocals. The salty sweet vocals of opener “Wanted to Burn” are pitch perfect too, not overselling anything just iterating self-destruction in an honest and open way, and they come back for a split second on “Forget Me Not,” but the instrumental parts of the EP say more than enough if that’s what you prefer. That being said, if you’re like us and you’ve become a bit jaded to by-the-numbers math rock sounds, Right Chipper is a great reminder that the genre’s vein’s are still rich with madness – you just have to chip away at it, and now, finally, we’re starting to get the band name. We think.
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