Hippo Campus released their titled-track for their sophomore album ‘Bambi last week, but I’m not sure whether to be excited about it or not.
The band recently played in London last week for two intimate sold-out Reading & Leeds warm-up shows at Omeara where fans were treated to their classic indie-pop tunes.
But their new cut ‘Bambi’ doesn’t fit their indie-pop style at all so I wonder how the new album will sound. The band has ventured to the different side of the indie-pop spectrum with drum machines and synths and less jangly, gritty guitars.
The band say that cultural shifts, including the #MeTooMovement, has influenced their writing process: “That really made us take a look at how toxic masculinity has influenced the way we see ourselves and the world overall,” says Jake Luppen.
“In the past we might have been apprehensive about being super-vulnerable, but now we’re more aware of how important it is to come forward about dealing with depression or anxiety.
“Because if more men are able to do that, they might be less likely to express those feelings as anger or violence.”
Partly recorded at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in Chicago, Bambi finds Hippo Campus working again with producer BJ Burton (Bon Iver, Low, Francis and the Lights) again who handled production on their 2017 full-length debut Landmark. And in sculpting Bambi’s distinctly inventive arrangements, Hippo Campus significantly expanded their use of drum machines and synth.
Bambi will be released digitally via Transgressive Records on September 28 and the band will return in February on a UK and European tour including a night at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire on February 21.
Tour dates:
14/02/2019 – Manchester, UK – 02 Ritz
15/02/2019 – Glasgow, UK – The Garage
16/02/2019 – Newcastle, UK – The Riverside
18/02/2019 – Birmingham, UK – Institute
19/02/2019 – Dublin, IE – Dublin Academy Green Room
21/02/2019 – London, UK – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
23/02/2019 – Bristol, UK – SWX
24/02/2019 – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
26/02/2019 – Brussels, BE – Botanique / Rotonde
27/02/2019 – Cologne, DE – Luxor
28/02/2019 – Paris, FR – La Maroquinerie
01/03/2019 – Amsterdam, AN – Tolhuis (Paradiso Noord)
03/03/2019 – Berlin, DE – Lido
04/03/2019 – Hamburg, DE – Molotow
05/03/2019 – Copenhagen, DK – Hotel Cecil
UK & European tickets go on sale today (August 31).
