Hippo Campus is an indie rock band that is made up of St. Paul locals. Their newest album, LP3, was released on February 4. Here is everything you need to know about Hippo Campus:
The members
The band consists of Jake Luppen (lead vocals, guitar), Nathan Stocker (lead guitar, vocals), Zach Sutton (bass, keyboard), Whistler Isaiah Allen (drums, vocals), and DeCarlo Jackson (Trumpet). The band formed and met while they were students at the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists (SPCPA). During their time at SPCPA, all the members studied jazz and classical music. Their musical background is apparent in their sound.
Discography
Hippo Campus dropped their first EP, Bashful Creatures, in 2015. This EP consisted of 5 tracks of which “Little Grace” and “South” were most popular. “South” continues to be one of their most popular songs on Spotify at over 48 million streams. Since then, Hippo Campus has crafted more music to create three full-length albums.
Landmark Album Cover, dailyemerald.com
Landmark (2017)
Their first full-length album. Consists of 13 songs and around 44 minutes of music. “Buttercup,” “Way It Goes,” “Simple Season” and “Poems” are their most-streamed tracks from this album (Spotify).
Bambi (2018)
Bambi was released on September 28, 2018. This album featured 10 tracks and came out to be around 33 minutes of music. “Bambi,” “Why Even Try,” “Golden” and “Honestly” are their most popular tracks from this album (Spotify). In 2019, they released Demos I and Demos II. These albums featured demo tracks that were new, as well as demos of tracks from some of their previous albums.
LP3 (2022)
LP3 was released on February 4. This full-length album features 10 tracks. The band has released “Boys,” “Semi Pro,” “Ride or Die” and “Bang Bang” in anticipation of this new album.
EPs and singles
The full-length albums that Hippo Campus has released have been very successful. Their EPs and Singles continue to be fan-favorites as well as some of their most-streamed music on Spotify. Their EPs include Bashful Creatures (2015), South (2015), warm glow (2017) and Good Dog, Bad Dream (2021). “baseball,” “warm glow” and “Bad Dream Baby” are all in their top 10 most popular on Spotify and have millions of streams each.
Why should you care?
I guess what makes us different is I feel like we’re a people’s band. We’re not a press band, and we’re not really a radio band. We’re just kind of a band that people really connect with.
Luppen, Ones to Watch Interview, 2017
Hippo Campus has 3 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and they are becoming increasingly popular. Their music has a unique sound and instrumentation. The lyrics for their songs illustrate a story and make it relatable for their listeners.
