Hippo Campus have released “Yippie Ki Yay,” the second single taken from their upcoming EP, Wasteland, out April 14 via Grand Jury Music. Following their previously released track, “Kick In The Teeth”, the anthemic new single continues to bridge the gap between the band’s new soundscape and their most recent album, LP3, released last year.
The single is accompanied by a vivid, stop-motion style visualizer directed by Julian Gross, which can be seen now below. Of the release, Hippo Campus explained, “We initially started writing this song 6 years ago. It’s a story within a story. The narrative follows a character who has been outlawed but zooms out in each chorus to the perspective of the characters writing the story. It deals with “giddying up” in the sense that we gotta keep on keeping on despite not knowing what the fuck we’re doing a lot of the time.”
The band continued, “Imposter syndrome. the etymology of the word ‘yippie’ is not commonly agreed upon, but in the 1936 song ‘I’m an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)’ written by Johnny Mercer about a changing landscape of the traditional cowboy portrait, the lyrics seem applicable to our current state of affairs, perhaps the human condition; the constant observation and resistance to social change. the ugly reflection of a faux cowboy not knowing how to actually, really, truly rope a steer.”
The five songs collected on Wasteland are totems of friendship, hardship, heartbreak, and, ultimately, perseverance. It’s dispatched from an unnamed disaster spread out across the Midwestern plains; the band was heavily inspired by country music, the way that songwriting gets straight to the point, and using that straight-forwardness, imagery, and dark humor as a vehicle for talking about the grief, loss, and love they’ve collectively experienced in the past year. Wasteland was recorded with longtime friend and collaborator Caleb Wright (Samia, Miloe, Baby Boys), and is the first batch of new music from Hippo Campus since the release of LP3. The songs were written mainly in Minneapolis, then recorded at Asheville’s Drop of Sun studios.
Hippo Campus are set to embark on an extensive North American tour this year with support from Gus Dapperton and Charly Bliss – both acts will join the bill for their sold out show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre ahead of their plays at the Central Park Summerstage in New York and Bonnaroo.
Tour Dates:
5/2 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheater * % SOLD OUT
5/4 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren %
5/5-6 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Shabang Music Festival
5/8 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory Boise %
5/10 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory Spokane %
5/11 – Bozeman, MT – ELM %
5/13 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court Block Party
5/14 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre *
5/15 – San Diego, CA – SOMA *
5/18 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom *
5/19 – Austin, TX – Moody Amphitheater *
5/20 – Fayetteville, AR – JJ’s Live *
5/22 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant *
5/23 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee *
5/24 – Chicago, IL – Salt Shed * SOLD OUT
5/26 – Washington, DC – The Anthem *
5/27 – Asheville, NC – Rabbit Rabbit *
5/28 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern *
5/30 – Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live! *
6/1 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore *
6/2 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion *
6/3 – New York, NY – Central Park SummerStage *
6/18 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo
6/24 – Duluth, MN – Bayfront Festival Park ^
* w/ Gus Dapperton
% w/ Charly Bliss
^ w/ Miloe and Papa Mbye