Over the past few years, Minneapolis’ Hippo Campus have grown up and into itself. Although the five-piece has been friends since middle school and put out a number of studio releases since its inception, it’s the new record, February’s LP3, that’s the most honest portrait of who Hippo Campus are. 

It’s also a study in the nuances of growing up — coming to terms with mortality, the confusing journey of sexuality, bottoming out, seeing decisions from the night before in the harsh morning light; finding your identity as a person and as an artist — how that can be a collision of elation and shame, painful and joyful all at once.

LP3 is their strongest and most complete work yet — a freshly-inked portrait excavating young adulthood and identity and, more importantly, how that personal identity fits into a larger camaraderie. Through cinematic, sonic clarity, LP3 is a sweeping account of courage and tenacity; tender-hearted stumbling that leads you on the right path after all.

Clash Magazine: “So Hippo Campus are back together and memory of their previous albums has been restored but also enhanced. Where their earlier work felt more earnest and innocent, there’s a sharper streak of contemplation on LP3; the earnestness remains, certainly, but it’s improved with a well-worn sense of lived-in experience.”

The Minnesota Daily: “The album establishes the band as a serious group with lots left to say in the world of indie rock.Though it doesn’t stray too far from the traditional indie rock sound, LP3 is an all-encompassing album that marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the Minnesota band.”

Atwood Magazine: “For longtime listeners, this may be their introduction to a ‘new’ sound. But that’s not necessarily the case for the band. LP3 is a homecoming, Hippo Campus fully formed and fully realized. It’s a sonic playground.”