Hippo Campus at Club Downunder

“There’s a moment in growing up when it becomes clear that the road you walk is your own to cultivate.” A surprisingly profound sentiment for a band of 21-year olds. Nevertheless, it’s a sentiment that animates much of landmark, the debut album from Minneapolis’ Hippo Campus.

From the resplendent “Way It Goes,” a guitar led gallop about the Instagram-filtered church of cool, to the propulsive “Boyish,” a horn-kissed rumination on children of divorce, landmark is shot through with a woozy dissonance between precocious wisdom and old-as-time coming of age stories. The result is a messy, brave, and earnest whole — not to mention, a tectonic shift forward for a young band still discovering itself.

Of course, that should come as no surprise. Hippo Campus — comprised of vocalist/guitarist Jake Luppen, guitarist/vocalist Nathan Stocker, bassist Zach Sutton, and drummer Whistler Allen — have done their fair share of growing up since forming in late 2013. Their pair of 2015 EPs, Bashful Creatures and South, catapulted a freshly-formed band onto sold out tours, radio airwaves, late night TV stages, timelines, feeds, and glowing screens the world over. After a 10-month stretch of work informed by their surprising ascent, Hippo Campus’ first full-length showcases not only their trademark ear for ringing melodies and impeccably constructed pop frameworks, but a desire to dig deeper — both into their talent and in their selves — for inspiration.