Hippo Campus, Gus Dapperton

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Shervin Lainez

The band Hippo Campus.

Hippo Campus

Twin Cities-based Hippo Campus hits Madison in the middle of a nationwide tour in support of their new EP, Wasteland, recorded at Asheville’s Drop of Sun studios. Formed while the members were still in high school in 2013, the band has grown up and their sound has evolved. But there’s still a sprightly, youthful ambience in every song. The new songs have a little bit of country-western flair. See Stephen Coss’ preview here. Gus Dapperton opens.

$39.50.

media release: Minneapolis based five-piece Hippo Campus announce the release of their new EP Wasteland, out April 14 via Grand Jury Music. The announcement is accompanied by single “Kick In The Teeth,” a warm, raw ode to a lover that spotlights frontman Jake Luppen’s honeyed vocals. The 5-track EP follows their 2022 album LP3 that marked a sonic purge in the band’s repertoire, with their “chilled-out-yet-catchy-as-hell” (Billboard) sound solidifying them as a pillar in modern alternative indie-rock.

The five songs collected on Wasteland are totems of friendship, hardship, heartbreak, and, ultimately, perseverance. It’s dispatched from an unnamed disaster spread out across the Midwestern plains; the band was heavily inspired by country music, the way that songwriting gets straight to the point, and using that straight-forwardness, imagery, and dark humor as a vehicle for talking about the grief, loss, and love they’ve collectively experienced in the past year. Wasteland was recorded with longtime friend and collaborator Caleb Wright (Samia, Miloe, Baby Boys), and is the first batch of new music from Hippo Campus since the release of LP3. The songs were written mainly in Minneapolis, then recorded at Asheville’s Drop of Sun studios.

With their catalog at 900 million streams and two gold singles, Hippo Campus will embark on an extensive North American tour this year with support from Gus Dapperton and Charly Bliss - both acts will join the bill for their sold out show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre ahead of their plays at the Central Park Summerstage in New York and Bonnaroo.