Hippo Campus has delivered us one of the sunniest and melodically delicious masterpieces of 2017 thus far with their debut album Landmark. The album starts with a experimental electronic track “Sun Veins” that slowly slides into the glorious “Way It Goes”. This warm, cheery, and harmonious track is the kind of song you’d find yourself listening to on a beach at sunset. For first-timers this is the song that will pull you into the album. Up next, “Vines” is a catchy pop track with luscious melodies provided by Luppen’s charming vocals and Beach Boys-esque harmonies in the background. “Epitaph”, the fourth track is one of the slower tracks of the album but still maintains a delightful charm. Luppen’s vocals are slightly distorted on the track to fit the overall theme of the song. “Simple Season” is an incredibly sunny and charming love song with slick guitar riffs reminiscent of Two Door Cinema Club.
Further in, “Tuesday” takes us to a euphoric place with it’s dreamy guitar riffs and echoic electronics that hit you, well, right in the hippocampus! Moving forward, “Western Kids” is a percussion-soaked rocker with another catchy chorus that leaves the listener glowing after hearing it. Next we have “Poems” and “Monsoon,” which are a bit darker and slower but a welcomed break from the incredibly uplifting tracks that come before. We get just a few minutes to come down from the high before jumping into the sonically expansive “Boyish,” one of the standout tracks on the album. Just before the album ends we get an instrumental interlude before it moves into the simply sweet and playful “Buttercup”, with its passionate and heartfelt vocals and vocal blips.
Landmark is an album you MUST purchase and listen to on REPEAT!
Visit them online: http://hippocampusband.com
FEELS: warm, sunny, and euphoric
TASTES: sweet as hell