On “Semi Pro,” Hippo Campus Find Their New, Grown-Up Groove
Grand Jury Records signee and Saint Paul natives Hippo Campus are back with a single off of their upcoming third album, the aptly-titled LP3. The indie-rock outlet, comprised of frontman Jake Luppen, bassist Zach Sutton, trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson, guitarist Nathan Stocker, and drummer Whistler Allen, burst onto the scene with their 2017 debut LP, Landmark. That album cemented the five-piece as heavy hitters in their genre-- they could deliver lyrical potency without sacrificing lighthearted, danceable beats. The tracks were sun-kissed, with even somber moments having an air of levity. The project, above all, showcased the band’s ability to touch on both the serious and the saccharine with grace.
It was a debut album with relatively few flaws. The band didn’t have a chance to not be ambitious. 2018’s Bambi saw the band, stylistically and lyrically, performing at a career high, taking creative risks that left them without much room to ever slow down.
So much of Hippo Campus’ identity hinged on their ability to continue garnering positive feedback that it appears to have driven a literal and creative wedge in between the band and their music. LP3’s singles, including “Semi Pro,” see the band committing to a refined, more honest ethos. Rarely have they been so vulnerable as they are on “Semi Pro,” as frontman Luppen croons about “running out of goals” and the desperation in the band’s struggle to sort out its own identity.
On the track, Hippo Campus is remarkably sedated. “Everybody thinks they’re semi-pro, then it all comes down like a waterfall raining on you,” Luppen reflects, perhaps on the lessons he’s learned about balancing his public persona and personal life. He doesn’t seem upset over the revelation, but reflective, self-aware. There’s a lackadaisical energy here that’s free from the be-all, end-all emotional urgency of the band’s earlier projects-- the result of pandemic-induced soul-searching, perhaps.
“I’ve been bad, but I’m only getting better,” Luppen reiterates several times throughout the track, setting a tone of personal rebellion for the band’s third full-length release. His vocals soar, laced with airy reverb. True to his sentiments, “Semi Pro” is not all doom and gloom. In signature Hippo Campus fashion, Luppen dances and grooves, albeit a bit more reservedly, through his quarter-life crisis with such swagger that it’s tough to feel down for too long. Jangly strings, jumpy horns and bouncy, emotive drums soundtrack the most upbeat-sounding identity upheaval Hippo Campus has ever undertaken.
At the end of the single, there’s a distant shatter, perhaps the sound of glass breaking. There’s a sense of finality, a realization that we’ve entered a new stage in Hippo Campus’ career. If “Semi Pro” is any indication, LP3 will usher in a new era of sounds that are introspective, but never melodramatic. On “Semi Pro,” we see the band as thoughtful and prolific as ever, yet refusing to let their heightened awareness result in a lack of fun. They’ve managed to find their sweet spot, performing for themselves without sacrificing many of the elements that have made their music widely accessible. In that, Hippo Campus seems more mature than they ever have, newly confident and entirely professional.
Words by Meg
Listen to "Semi Pro" here
