Get ready for the 2023 Spring Concert, y’all. Hippo Campus is in town, and they just dropped a new single. 

“Yippie Ki Yay” feels like the band’s usual indie-rock style with a country twist. It’s the second single pre-released from their EP Wasteland, which will be out on April 14. The concept for Wasteland is one that I wasn’t on board with at first. The first single, “Kick in the Teeth,” makes me feel like a lovesick cowboy. I couldn’t quite get down with the twang. 

But I will gladly be a gunslinging outlaw for “Yippie Ki Yay.” 

The drum intro gets me right away, and by the time the guitar comes in, my toes are tapping and my head is bopping. The lyrics pull me into a different world.

“Been chased for the last three weeks /

I move quick, got a bounty on me / 

Outlawed in my prime, man / 

No friends but the tumbleweeds.”

Suddenly, I’m a cowboy on the run. 

The whole song builds up to an outro that I can imagine being sung by a mob of people (possibly in the Breslin Center). A celebration of life and youth. 

“Yippie ki, yippie ki, yippie ki yay /

Riding high, riding high, riding highways /

Yippie ki, yippie ki, yippie ki yay /

Get on my, get on my, get on my way.”

I applaud Hippo Campus for trailblazing by staying true to themselves. Give “Yippie Ki Yay” a listen, go see the band perform live at the Breslin Center tonight, and maybe buy some cowboy boots.