Chris Lippincott Maps New Territory on ‘Angel In a Jetstream’

Chris Lippincott has spent years as a session player and producer for country and blues artists around Nashville. His pedal steel work shows up on records by Maggie Koerner and Josh Hyde, and he holds down a spot in John Mailander’s Forecast, a group that operates in some uncategorized zone between new age and post-bluegrass. None of that day-job context prepares you for the music he makes under his own name.

On previous albums like 2021’s Repose and 2024’s Wishing With the Rain, Lippincott built immersive soundscapes that felt closer to film scores than to anything coming out of Music City’s studios. Stars of the Lid and Radiohead were clear touchpoints, and Lippincott has cited Jonny Greenwood’s compositional approach as a direct influence. With Angel In a Jetstream, out now, he pushes further into the blurred space where contemporary classical meets post-rock. The result is some of his most compelling work.

Most of the album moves through instrumental pieces built around solo piano or small chamber arrangements. Their scale stays compact but the emotional pull is substantial. “Grace” pairs cello and violin in a mesmerising harmony that suggests something larger without ever raising its voice. “To Be Held” breaks that quiet open with just a few additions, a drum machine’s subtle patter against piano and strings that recalls A Moon Shaped Pool-era Radiohead. Even a stripped-back piece like “Coming Down” manages to feel meditative and active at the same time.

Two tracks feature vocals. “Here I Am With You” leans into an almost Sigur Rós-like territory, a high-pitched voice riding a brushed drum machine pattern before strings swell into a climactic rise. The album’s heaviest moment arrives on “When Something Turns to Peace,” where Lippincott harmonises with Maya de Vitry over a gentle bed of piano and strings. For once, he brings in the pedal steel that usually belongs to other people’s songs. The touch stays light, but the song lands harder than anything around it.