The debut album by Minnesotan indie-pop group Hippo Campus, “Landmark,” is a gift to those who have followed the band since its art school beginning, but it’s also a generous offering to those who might not know the four-piece’s jangly, post-Vampire Weekend sound.
Whatever camp you fall into, “Landmark” balances growth and stagnation. The band plays with a longer format on this album compared to previous EPs. Not only does this allow for more exploration in post-production, but it also allows the band to experiment with time. 
While earlier releases such as 2015’s “Bashful Creatures” had short, tightly crafted indie-pop bops, “Landmark” meanders, taking its time to reveal itself fully. Opening track “Sunlight Veins” plays with synth and vocal effects over Jake Luppen’s voice for more than a minute, easing listeners into the band’s longest release yet.
This sense of time makes “Landmark” an album that looks forward because of the way it looks back. The band’s members are in their college years, but they find themselves looking back at their high school career in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with a sense of inspiration and growth. “Landmark” is named after the building in downtown Saint Paul where they attended high school.
This seems to satiate two types of fans: those who grew up with them at house shows in the Twin Cities scene and those who found out about them through performances at large festivals or TV shows like “Conan.” Much of the album’s press coverage has focused on this aspect. 
Lyrically, Hippo Campus finds a way to play with youth and memory while also critiquing those very concepts. Hippo Campus doesn’t necessarily look back through rose-colored glasses, but rather, through shards of memories. These shards are what propel an otherwise long album forward.
Luppen takes a look at youth in “Way It Goes,” the album’s second track. He sings “You put your records on/Exclusively the old Pavement ones/A ’90s soul with Doc Martens on/A step, a step away from crying.” These lyrics layered over Whistler Allen’s bouncing drums create a sense of space where the listener can flourish.
In “Way It Goes,” Luppen is making fun of his generation, but there’s also a tinge of refusal to change. Hippo Campus is deliberate in this critique and doesn’t shy away from addressing a somewhat brutal truth in the song.
Other songs on the album, such as “Poems” and the syrupy-slow “Vacation” stress similar ideas but don’t approach them so harshly. “With all that fell in our laps/You’d think that peace would come and find us/I struggle to see a point of searching for the walls beside us,” Luppen croons. It seems as if he’s almost sorry for himself. 
Despite all the nostalgia and memory that “Landmark” deals with, it’s not completely sad nor celebratory. While it celebrates youth, it does not shy away from addressing the problems with overwhelming reminiscence. “Landmark” seems to ask, what’s so wrong with living in the gray area?” With this album, Hippo Campus have found the perfect way to stay comfortable while jumping into the unknown. 
Watch and listen to Hippo Campus’s “Way it Goes” here:

If you’re a fan of indie-pop (and alt-country) check out this Q&A with Evan Stephens Hall from the band Pinegrove — also written by Emerald writer, Sararosa Davies.