Spirited indie quartet Hippo Campus have recently released a brand new song titled ‘Boyish’. The latest tune marks their newest material following the release of their album ‘Bashful Creatures’ only last year, so this makes one thing clear – the Minneapolis lads have been busy.
What is also made clear by ‘Boyish’ is that there is little to dislike about the song. ‘Boyish’ continues the inherent guitar driven pop vibe of the band’s prior material, but it also appears that Hippo Campus have bolstered up their sound whilst still keeping their angular approach. The song begins in a driving fashion with the addition of a horn section pre-empting the chorus melody. Next to enter is the vocal of frontman Jake Luppen, who sings an infectiously jaunty melody which is decorated with some of his stylistic falsetto jumps.
There’s plenty of scattered bits and pieces throughout ‘Boyish’ which seek to provide a refreshing quality to the band’s sound, there’s reverberated vocal swells, horn section interjections and echoed backing vocals. Pleasantly, these added overdubs prove to sit in the song comfortably, rather than detract from the song itself. The chorus is definitely the pinnacle of ‘Boyish’, it’s the sort of chorus you’ll have to fight your urge to sing to in the shower. Before you know it the song has finished, and that’s what I like about it; just three and a half minutes of great melodies – about as radio friendly as it gets.
For fans of Vampire Weekend and Bombay Bicycle Club you’re in luck, as ‘Boyish’ falls somewhere in the middle. Although perhaps not as musically motivating as some of their other songs, Hippo Campus have delivered the goods on ‘Boyish’. Who knows, this might be the sign of a new album…
