The Minnesotan indie-pop band Hippo Campus released their second EP “South” Oct. 2, capturing all my spare time, so consider this a formal apology to my bosses and professors for the work I avoided.
The five-track EP includes songs the band had previously written before the debut of their first EP “Bashful Creatures” in February 2015. The songs were originally set to be a part of a full album, which was never released. The band streamed their EP early Sept. 28 on SoundCloud, giving fans a few days head start before the album was released for purchase and on Spotify Friday.
“Close To Gold” kicks off the EP, with Jake “Turntan” Luppen’s raspy vocals following an enticing single guitar strum. It’s not long before the rest of the bandmates join in—guitarist Nathan “Stitches” Stocker, bassist Zach “Espo” Sutton and drummer Whistler “Beans” Allen. “Close To Gold” shows off the band’s cohesive sound when other bandmates join in with background chanting toward the end of the song.
Every other track on the album features a slower build before the vocals, like the first single and title track, “South.” It starts off with a cheerful, light guitar melody that causes an involuntary head bob, one that’s most recognizable in straight-backed hipsters at a concert. Luppen demonstrates the raspy side of his voice again, singing, “You go down south, south,” no less than half a dozen times before Allen and Stocker join in. The song is perfect for both a single and a road trip, as it’s not long before its repetitive lyrics are stuck in your head for the next 12 plus hours. “South” continues to build, as Luppen belts out, “Streetlights talk the same way my mother told me/ I walk the same way my father told me/ Back straight and chest out, just like a soldier.” All along, the band chants, “You go down south, south.” The song features a sort of controlled chaos by the end, the vocals and instruments revving up before it ends and fades out.
To throw back to an original song from Sesame Street, listeners can play a “one of these things is not like the other” game with the final track of the EP, “The Halocline.” A mantra of attempting to transition into adulthood, the song clocks in at six minutes and 23 seconds, with the first lyrics not echoing in for a minute and 15 seconds, a minute longer than the intro in “South.” While the rest of the EP includes dance-inducing beats with a strong bass drum and drumstick-clicking, “The Halocline” induces a haunting vibe not heard in other songs or on “Bashful Creatures.” The slow tempo is melodic, leaving listeners on their toes as they wait to see when the song will pick up. Luppen repeats, “This is our home/ This is our only way” in a smooth, quieter voice when suddenly Allen slams on the drums, the guitars and bass pick up and Luppen starts yelling the lyrics, without bursting your eardrums. Before long the song retreats back into an eerie vibe like the beginning, fading out with hints of a saxophone fleeting through until the very end.
While “The Halocline” is a bit of a wild card on the EP, it breaks the curse too many artists fall victim to on their second album: a repetitive sound. The band’s overall sound has matured since “Bashful Creatures,” which Luppen described in a Sept. 10 interview explaining that “some songs are different in the fact that there are some darker themes that play.” Hippo Campus transitioned seamlessly into their second EP, still recognizable by their original fanbase, while also appealing to a new listener.
Grade: A-
