Hippo Campus

A spirited indie rock quartet based out of the Twin Cities, Hippo Campus deliver angular and melodic guitar-driven pop that falls somewhere between the collegiate Afro-pop/garage rock of Vampire Weekend and the post-punk nerviness of Bombay Bicycle Club. The band formed in 2013, made up of frontman Jake Luppen, co-frontman/guitarist Nathan Stocker, bassist Zach Sutton, and drummer Whistler Allen (on-stage the band use the code names Stitches, Beans, Espo, and Turntan), all of whom met in high school in St. Paul. Hippo Campus wasted little time infiltrating the local scene, with their high-energy live sets eventually attracting the attention of the management team behind fellow Minnesotans Trampled by Turtles and Low. Hippo Campus landed a slot at South by Southwest and made an appearance on Conan ahead of their 2014 debut EP, Bashful Creatures, which was produced by Low's Alan Sparhawk. The following year saw them ink a deal with Universal, which soon released The Halocline EPs, which repackaged Bashful Creatures and another EP, South, on one disc. In March 2017, Hippo Campus released their long-awaited full-length debut, Landmark. Just one year later they returned with their sophomore effort, the eclectic and more electronics-driven Bambi. ~ James Christopher Monger