Over the last decade, Hippo Campus have become embedded within the indie music sphere. The Minnesotan band grew of a vast, radiantly upbeat soundscape rooted in immersive guitars on their debut ‘Landmark’ , becoming more assured and expansive through elements of polished electronic production in their subsequent two albums. Two years on from their last release, Hippo Campus’ new LP ‘Flood’ sees the seasoned giants at their most refined.
However, the final product was a labour of trial and error. After writing over one hundred songs, the band came to the realisation that they did not like what they were making. Scrapping five years of work, they went back to the drawing board in a ten day stint at Sonic Ranch studios with a new process in mind: abandon ideas of what the record should be, to make room for what it could be.
As such, the record stands as an organic, forward-thinking collection of self-examining tracks. This immediately comes through in the achingly candid opener ‘Prayer Man’, a dismal bassline and woeful, torn riffs creating a solemn state as Jake Luppen calls for a miracle. “I need a prayer man, to keep me alive,” stands out most touchingly, a desperate measure to ask for help.
So things don’t begin on the happiest note, but it seems that a sliver of hope still remains. ‘Paranoid’ follows, upping the pace with more energetic instrumentation. Yet it’s still not all sunshine for Hippo Campus, as Luppen chronicles a watchful pressure.
Comi.
