Today Hippo Campus share Demos II, a collection of new songs written and recorded over the summer of 2017 and the winter of 2018. The new material came to life during the sessions around the band’s most recent album Bambi. The nine song mini-album includes fan favorites and live staples like “No Poms,” “Chapstick,” and “Joy.”

The release follows that of Demos I — eight early versions of Bambi songs — which took fans into the world of Hippo Campus’ creative process and demonstrated how the band crafted their latest album. Demos II is available to buy or stream here.

After epic performances at The Governor’s Ball, Bonnaroo, and Firefly, the band recently headed out on tour with The Heart and The Heart, a run peppered with appearances at Hinterland and VooDoo Festival this summer. Tickets over on the artist page.

In February 2017, Twin Peaks took fellow Chicagoans Post Animal on a short tour of Michigan. Within a month, and on the tails of their budding friendships, Cadien moved into a home with all five members of the band: Dalton Allison, Jake Hirshland, Javi Reyes, Matt Williams, and Wes Toledo.

Now roommates, Cadien and Javi wrote songs together, experimenting with open tunings and finger picking in ways neither had in their other bands, channeling John Fahey and Nick Drake through a lens more familiar to them. They quickly recorded a few instrumentals on a 50s’ portable reel to reel tape machine, with Wes playing drums, Matt playing bass, Jake playing synthesizer and guitar, and Dalton triggering nature sounds. And so Column was born.

It wasn’t until January of 2019 that the words were written and swiftly tracked. Mixed and mastered by good friend R. Andrew Humphry, “I” & “II,” the first entries in the Column story were written. Today, Stereogum premiered “II,” the band’s first public offering, accompanied by a black and white, straight-to-VHS (literally) video, directed by the band, and shot and edited by Alex Leeds. “It’s a sweet and welcoming clip that bolsters the message of the group’s plucky, harmonized tune,” says Sgum’s Connor Duffey.

Pre-order the 7″, available August 16th via Grand Jury, over on Bandcamp.

Hippo Campus surprised fans tonight when they released Demos I, an eight-song digital album comprised of early and alternate versions of Bambi songs. “During the tail end of the landmark writing sessions we began to demo out recordings on our own for the first time,” says Hippo’s Jake Luppen. “This was one of the driving forces behind the making of Bambi. Many of the tracks changed pretty drastically from demo to record. We hope that it will help the listener understand our creative process and how much things change from square one.”

After an epic performance at The Governor’s Ball earlier this month, the band recently announced they will be joining The Heart and The Heart later this summer as well as playing several major festivals including Bonnaroo, Firefly, Hinterland, VooDoo Festival and more. Tickets over on the Hippo artist page.

The latest video from Hippo Campus was unveiled this morning, alongside another(!) run of US dates in support of Bambi. It’s fitting then that the video, directed by Brittany O’Brien, is a compilation of footage shot along the previous legs of the band’s seemingly never-ending Bambi tour. Tickets available later this week over on their artist page.

This just in: Twin Peaks have announced a handful of dates across the globe for later this fall. We’ll have much more news to share soon, but in the meantime these calendar additions are going to have to tide you over. Tickets available later this week here.

Samia has been busy. After releasing her double A-side single, “Lasting Friend” / “Paris,” back in January, she jumped on the road with Donna Missal in February, turned heads at SXSW in March, then joined her label mates Hippo Campus on another leg of their Bambi tour in April & May. Today she’s back with “Ode to Artifice,” a new single and music video (featuring a cameo from Mary Louise Parker) directed by Nick D’Agostino. The video just debuted over on Consequence of Sound, as part of their recurring Origins feature.

“The New York singer offers more than poignant confessional lyrics,” says CoS’s Ming Lee Newcombe. “She also crafts striking compositions, which range from dramatic, wailing folk ballads backed by simple piano or acoustic guitar accompaniments to gritty and grungy rock anthems. Always at the forefront is her crystalline voice, carrying each number with its deft transitions between ranges and its emotional power.” 

Of the video, Samia says, “‘Ode to Artifice’ is a desperate plea; my authentic self is lusting after my stage/party persona and begging her to merge. Nick D’agostino and I decided to tell the story of a girl who spends weeks obsessing over the way she’ll present herself at prom, only to discover that she is grossly underdressed compared to the more colorful and popular version of herself who is thriving at the event.”

The video and single come only a few short weeks before a pair of headline shows, one at Rough Trade in Brooklyn, NY and another at Bootleg Theatre in Los Angeles. Tickets over on her Artist page. As anyone who caught her with Donna or Hippo can attest, you don’t want to miss these shows.

Today Baby Boys released the new music vide for I’m Set standout “Wannabe.” Directed by Ethan Nelson, who helmed the “Kinky Toe” video as well, it features hip hop dancer Rachel Wilson and was shot on location in Holy Land USA up in Waterbury, CT.

Today Hippo Campus have released the video for “Why Even Try.” Directed by Ruff Mercy, who has helmed music videos for Thom Yorke, Run The Jewels, Preoccupations and Bayonne, the video is a semi-animated trip inside the mind of Hippo Campus. “So much of Bambi is concerned with mental health,” says the band. “The way Ruff Mercy’s video weaves between a relatively under control external world and a more unhinged internal world seemed apt. And the approach to animation really captured the sort of chaos and contradictory emotions that we were attempting to explore on the record.”

In related news, the band continues on the path to world domination today announcing another major US tour, this time joining The Head And The Heart on their summer run across the states. The band has just wrapped a tour of Australia & East Asia and are back on the road here in the US next month touring with our very own Samia. Tickets over in the tour section.

Rubblebucket are back today with a ridiculously inventive music video for Sun Machine standout “Lemonade.” The video, available on YouTube in 360 degrees, was helmed by Julia Barrett-Mitchell, Alex Suber & Dane Benko. It comes along with a lengthy Billboard feature that dives into the backstory of the song, the video, and the romantic breakup at the core of the new record. It’s also only a matter of days before the band kicks off another run of dates in support of Sun Machine. Tickets in the tour section.