Jessica Shalvoy on February 24th, 2017

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Having released two buzzworthy EPs (“South” and “Bashful Creatures”) and having built a fan base the old-fashioned way (touring, kids), Minnesota’s Hippo Campus have finally released a debut full-length album. The much-anticipated “Landmark” is out today via Grand Jury Music. Lead single “Boyish” is just as catchy as you’d expect from the same quartet that graced us with songs like “South” and “Suicide Saturday.” Glittering melodies, a cheerful beat and a sing-a-long chorus drive the bouncy track. Hippo Campus sound awfully Californian for a band that grew up in the cold.

The video for “Boyish” clings to the picturesque lyric “there’s sunlight dripping off the apricot tree” with varying images of apricots, an apricot feast, and even an apricot food fight. Their songs may be catchy, but they’re far from basic. The intricacies in their songwriting and musicianship, whether it’s the art of the build-up or the use of a perfectly placed melodic guitar riff, put them way ahead of the curve for such a young band. Maybe there’s something in the snow.

||| Watch: The videos for “Boyish” and “Way It Goes” and “Boyish”

||| Live: Hippo Campus play a sold out show with Avid Dancer at the Teragram Ballroom on March 3. They also play March 5 at the Constellation Room. Tickets.

||| Previously: Live at the Regent Theater