Hippo Campus channels their inner cowboy hat and cactus emojis
By: Chloe Trinka
Hippo Campus makes yet another splash in the spring music scene with the release of their new EP titled, Wasteland. The band members from Minnesota dig into their western fantasy in order to produce a unique set of songs. This country pop fusion brings new dimension to the bands usual indie rock persuasion and influence from their Twin Cities humble beginnings still find a way to shine through their genre exploration and cowboy themed lyric interpretation. In this EP, Hippo Campus teaches us the woes of being in love, the joys of drinking one down as the sun sets, and the importance of small town stories.
This EP is centered around main ideas of flatbed trucks, hard liquor, and old western television episodes, specifically played on a standing box television. Entering this EP experience is almost as though you are stepping into a roadside motel in some random city in Nebraska. As this western revival moves through our media (Ethel Cain, Angel Olsen, etc.), we can see more members of the music scene start to pick up on these storylines. In the song “Kick In The Teeth,” which was the first single released by Hippo Campus off this EP, small town ideals and porch stories find their way integrated into the perfectly crafted lyrics in order to explore the simplicity of daily life and the mundanity that is being alive on earth. I believe a crucial aspect of this EP is that this lifestyle is usually regarded as slow, but Hippo Campus does an excellent job of adding vibrancy and levels to country culture.
From a personal perspective, this EP will be making its rotation around my Spotify. Upbeat tracks like “Yippie Ki Yay” and token love songs like “Moonshine” already have been added to my beach, hiking, and road trip playlists! As we are tucking into the warmer seasons, these nostalgic, twangy tunes wash over like a breath of fresh air with melodic guitar riffs from Nathan Stocker and crisp horn from DeCarlo Jackson. Lyrical poetry by all of the Hippo Campus boys helps to seal the deal in a successful, genre-hopping EP.
Having listened to Hippo Campus since I was in middle school, I’ve seen the way that they have evolved and added an extrapolating amount of layers to their musicality over the years. The privilege to see them grow and shift into their own is something that I believe we will see more of and I hope that after reading this, others are looking to join in that watch. This is definitely not the last thing we will be hearing from Hippo Campus as this EP signals a national tour across the United States. Kicking off at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater on May 2, I’m sure many photos, live versions, and interviews are to come. I will be attending this show and hope to be able to bring a concert review to compare to this EP review! Until then, stream their new EP Wasteland, available as of April 14, 2023.