Hippo Campus Takes Indie Rock to Experimental, Genre-Bending Territory

Four years since their last album,“LP3” attempts to find a new identity for Minnesota band Hippo Campus

In the age of streaming, contributions from artists in the music industry are increasingly pointed towards two goals: quantity and virality.

For many record labels, the likelihood of a song getting big on TikTok is a much bigger factor in its success than the quality of the music itself. Naturally, artists who can capitalize on this constant demand for output find themselves staying “relevant” for much longer.

This trend, however, has not fazed Indie Rock band Hippo Campus. The 5-piece group from Saint Paul, Minnesota is known for their energetic, poppy hits like “Buttercup” and “Way It Goes” and is now coming out of a four-year hiatus with new music.

After only a few singles and the release of several “Demo” albums (featuring outtakes and tracks cut from previous records) in the time of their absence, Hippo Campus is back with a 10-track studio album. Titled “LP3,” this 33-minute project attempts to chart a new direction for the group sonically, as they experiment with the familiar tones and vibe of Indie Rock.

Since meeting in 2013, founding members Jake Luppen, Nathan Stocker, Zach Sutton, Whistler Allen and DeCarlo Jackson have been at the forefront of the indie rock scene. Prior to their newest record, the group had released two studio albums — “Landmark” and “Bambi” — and performed notably at festivals like South by Southwest and Lollapalooza. Coupled with tens of millions of streams, Hippo Campus has achieved a rare level of commercial success for their relatively “underground” status. However, after the release of 2018’s “Bambi,” the band took an extended break, releasing no new studio albums for four years.

For many of the tracks on “LP3,” Hippo Campus opts for a grittier, more distorted feel. This starts immediately on the first song, “2 Young 2 Die,” which features a highly granular and glitchy drum beat that, for the unaware listener, may warrant a check on their speakers. Taken with its brooding lyrics, this first track is reminiscent of shoegaze, an indie genre popular in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Another tonal shift comes on track two, “Blew Its,” which introduces an emotional ballad over a hyperpop-esque instrumental. The next two songs, “Ashtray” and “Bang Bang” return to the lush synth lines and catchy guitar licks that Hippo Campus built their strong following from.

So, while “LP3” delivers in both the old and new sounds of the band, each passing composition commits to what feels like a new genre and illustrates the project’s emphasis on experimentation as the album reaches its midpoint.

The following tracks “Semi-Pro” and “Ride or Die” take a turn towards Pop vocal melodies and feature more stripped-back instrumentals. The eighth song “Listerine” includes a heavily auto-tuned, wobbling vocal in front of soft instrumentation.

As the album’s runtime comes to an end, listeners are left with an array of different sounds and genres. “Bang Bang” and “Boys” emerge as definite standouts, as they skillfully merge Hippo Campus’ newfound experimentation with their solid songwriting base. While the genre-switching can occasionally affect the album’s flow, it ultimately doesn’t take away from the individually inspired sections throughout “LP3” that shine through.

Thematically, Hippo Campus frontman Jake Luppen explores themes of youth and identity, along with stumbling stories of love and sharp observations on life in “LP3.” Luppen and Stocker write on track “Ashtray”:

“Sorry I'm not well-equipped to address it / Drama hits me like a quaalude / Sometimes I know what I want then I second-guess it / Sometimes I think I'm better off if I leave you.”

Luppen also comments on his own future in the music industry through the metaphor of sports on “Semi-Pro:”

“Everybody thinks they're semi-pro / Then it all comes down like a waterfall raining on you / Got clean, I guess I'd rather never know / It's played out, now I'm hanging from the rafters.”

The lyrical content throughout “LP3” illustrates a shift in age for Hippo Campus, along with an inspiring sense of self-awareness. Though most prominent in terms of musical ideation are the massive shifts in genre and instrumentation that unfold throughout this album, it’s ultimately these experimentations that drive “LP3” into its unique form and strong relistening value.