Search - Hippos :: Forget the World

Awesome Debut Album

Jason | The big boot, Italy | 05/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In their first album The Hippos show the promise of becoming one of the great punk/ska bands in the near future. From their opening track - Far Behind to the ending track Forget the World The Hippos show off an amazing blend of horns, vocals, guitar and drums. Throughout the cd you'll find tight vocal harmonies between Ariel, Rich, and Louis with amazing drum fills by Kyle, moving back and forth between pounding the drums to smooth rhythms on tom-toms. To bring the band full circle the brass section gives a lift to the cd that most punk/ska bands miss these days. Whatever son you pick you'll find a brass part you'll like whether it be the groovy trombone solo from Rich in Diane, tight brass harmonies in Irie, or great sax solos by Roman. If you want a fun, groovy, lay back, California ska band this is it. These guys show what it's like to have fun in music all over again. You'll never tire listening to this cd and it gets better each time you drop it in."

Forget You! No, Forget the World!

Mike | 01/31/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This album was one of my very first ska albums. Very energetic horns, unique percussion style, good vocals, everything. I bought it in 1997 and unbeknownst to me at the time, my cousin was in high school with one of the horn players in Southern CA. I got to see the Hippos live once in Dallas, and they are fantastic both on and off stage. Their 2nd release - Heads Are Gonna Roll - is also a great CD, where their musical maturity really shines through. As of now they are broken up, but did manage to release a 3rd album because of an overwhelming number of requests (sometimes even bitter demands!) from their fans. This is incredible; I've never heard of any band putting out a new release after splitting up. It makes a good collector's item, but is somewhat evolved and has virtually no ska influence. Stick to Forget the World for your ska fix, and be sure to check out the band's updated website - www.thehippos.com. Peace."

An outstanding album

tomvista | the Left Coast | 06/16/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"this is a great album that I bought after hearing "behind," and "lost it," on 5 years on the streets (a great comp from vagrant records). I was a little disappointed not to see more unique horns like in "behind," but I've not been disappointed by the disk in general. Although they do seem to use the formula described below by the JMU student, I would never describe them like RBF, these two groups obviously came from two separate neighborhoods. All in all the CD's definitely worth the ten spot, and I personally can't wait to hear what The Hippos conjure up for their sophomore album. BTW if you like this pick up San Diego Vs Orange County, a 2 disk comp put out by common cause, it's only 10 bucks and packed full of punk and ska tunes from SoCals finest locals."