While the addictive ‘Bang Bang’ – an absolute fan-favourite first premiered during one of the band’s live stream performances back in 2020 and kept under covers up until now – explores the fatal last stroke of a long-lost relationship, the exciting ‘Ride Or Die‘ paints a picture of youthful love and the tangled balance between sweetness and brutal sincerity.īut it’s not just true mortality – be it in life or interpersonal connections – that ‘LP3’ investigates with an almost immaculate eye to detail, but also the metaphorical death to artistry and creativity. On the other side – and unsurprisingly, with the five-piece all being in their mid-20s – love and relationships, and the whirlwind rollercoasters they can be, play an instrumental part in the musical epic and lend the record its more personal lyrics and highly self-referential storytelling. For starters, there is the record opener ‘2 Young 2 Die’, a blazing electronic rocketeer that looks at coming to terms with your own mortality but still holding on to that invincibility of youth and the need to kill parts of yourself to be reborn. One could even understand it as them painting the portrait of what growing up feels like. Made up of lead singer and guitarist Jake Luppen, lead guitarist Nathan Stocker, drummer Whistler Allen, bassist Zach Sutton, and trumpeter DeCarlo Jackson – five guys who have been friends ever since high school and have grown up with and into each other – the group of young talents set out to dive deep into life, its many struggles but also highest hopes, with their third studio album. With over two years in the making and more than 35 individual songs penned down for it, it is safe to say that ‘LP3’ is Hippo Campus’ most honest portrait of who they are yet. Sometimes you just want a piece of art that will let you reflect on your most honest self – and that is exactly what this record is here to do. Because let’s be honest, sometimes you don’t just want a quick fix for all the intricate riddles life has to offer. What does being a musician in this day and age mean? In a world that demands everything to be faster, better and easier to access, does real artistry really have to be just that? Or is there a way to find longevity, your own self and true freedom within the chaos? These and so much more are the questions the Minnesota-based indie group Hippo Campus gives answers to on their latest album ‘LP3’ – or at least they try to.

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