Hippos Heads Are Gonna Roll

The Hippos draw from all sorts of influences, but they couldn't have existed any other time than in the late '90s. A band weened on New Wave that came of age during the alt-rock boom of the early '90s, the Hippos are gleeful magpies, borrowing from any post-punk pop they've ever heard. At their core, they're a ska-punk band, but they're a ska-punk band whose lives were changed by Weezer. Rentals-esque synthesizers are all over the Hippos' major-label debut.