It’s funny – and alarming – how quickly trends are changing in music these days. The jaunty indie pop of Minnesota’s Hippo Campus isn’t old-fashioned now, more just out-of-season: much of their new album recalls Vampire Weekend’s work on ‘Modern Vampires of the City’ (2013) in its vibrantly preppy presentation.
Perhaps that’s why the band decided to name their third album simply as ‘LP3’: it’s a statement of intent, a sign that they mean business. It’s been four long years since their sophomore album – albeit with a brief EP (‘Good Dog, Bad Dream’) released last year – and ‘LP3’ is the sound of Hippo Campus reconvening. Most of the band recently took time out to pursue side projects: frontman Jake Luppen became Lupin, Nathan Stocker became Brotherkenzie, and the pair worked with producer Caleb Hinz (also the producer of ‘LP3’) to make their debut record as Baby Boys.
You feel that Hinz has much to do with the quality of production on this album. Not a widely known name but simply another school friend of the band’s from Minnesota, he has risen to the challenge superbly with bright and bubbly production, with the caveat that a debt of gratitude to Rostam Batmanglij’s work on ‘Modern Vampires Of The City’ appears to be a clear influence.
Continue reading review at ClashMusic.com
By Conor Lochrie