REVIEW: Hippo Campus, Magic City Hippies @ Paradise Rock Club 04/01

(Photos by Monica Sucic)

On Saturday, April 1, Hippo Campus headlined the Paradise Rock Club as a part of the East Coast leg of their 2017 Landmark Tour. After releasing EPs in 2014 (Bashful Creatures) and 2015 (South), the Minnesota-based band released their first full album, Landmark, this past February. Hippo Campus is made up of frontman and guitarist Jake Luppen, guitarist Nathan Stocker, bassist Zach Sutton, and drummer Whistler Allen.

Hippo Campus’s sound is often described as similar to bands such as Bombay Bicycle Club and COIN, and they’ve been constantly noted as one of the best new bands to hit the indie scene. Both of the EPs and Landmark provide eloquently dark lyrics paired with energetic guitar riffs, strong bass lines, and foot-tapping drum beats; a prime example of this is “Suicide Saturday” off the Bashful Creatures EP. Luppen’s vocals touch some songs with carefully placed falsetto, whereas Stocker is featured in others with power-ballad style belting. There’s a dash of everything indie in all of their music, ranging from hints of afro-pop guitar to indie-rock solos.

All college-aged, the boys of Hippo Campus illustrate some of the darker sides of growing up in modern day in their songs. But worry not, their music will do the opposite of bring you down. They do something that many young bands struggle to do: pair the pains of  young adulthood with an upbeat and feel-good sound. It’s as if they say “Hey, someone else went through this too, and you can do it.” Bashful Creatures, which is an essential EP for an introduction to the band, will make you want to grab your keys and take a road-trip will all the windows down. Songs such as “South,” “Souls,” and “Way it Goes” are definitely tracks that you could throw on a summer playlist for soaking up the sun at the beach or park, and “Western Kids” and “Boyish” are ones that you could dance around your room too when no one is watching (which, admittedly, I did as soon as Landmark was released). More appropriate for relaxing rainy day listening, “Epitaph,” “Vacation,” and “Poems” show how the band has branched out musically from the roots of the EPs.  

Opening for the night was Magic City Hippies, hailing from Miami. With an energized rock sound, they were a perfect way to start the show. They played a few newer songs, such as “Hush,” and unreleased songs from their upcoming album. A few songs from their 2015 EP, Hippie Castle, also made the setlist, ending with their most popular song, “Bull Ride.”

Hippo Campus took the stage with the opening song to Landmark, “Sun Veins.”  The track was written to transition straight into the second song of the album, “Way it Goes” which they played directly after. After a few songs, Luppen took a break to talk about the band’s love for Boston and noted that he was sporting a spirited Red Sox hat that I had given to a him earlier. To reinforce this love, Stocker added that he was so excited for the show that he had said “What’s up Boston” at a show earlier in the week in DC. They played crowd favorites such as “Suicide Saturday” and “South,” as well as a few upbeat songs off of Landmark, like “Simple Season” and “Western Kids,” which were given a slightly different twist when played live. While playing these songs, Sutton could often be caught dancing dynamically to the beat or jumping in sync with Stocker from across the stage. The band also included some more solemn tracks from the the new album; one of such songs was the second single, “Monsoon,” which was written about the death of Stocker’s sister. It provided a unique and calming feeling among the crowd as Luppen turned from the high-speed strumming of earlier songs to sweet and soulful crooning. Hippo Campus finished the show off with “Buttercup,” a power-ballad that got everyone dancing and singing along with the whole band. They encored with “Violet,” another high-energy indie rock style song, whose music video is the band’s most popular, with over 1 million views on YouTube.

Overall, the band stunned the Boston crowd and stated that they hope to return soon. They were extremely kind before, during, and after the show, and expressed so much gratitude towards their fans. If you can, catch Hippo Campus while they’re still playing small venues, because they’re definitely going to take off.

-Monica Sucic