EP REVIEW: MMXX (Hypa Hypa Edition) – Eskimo Callboy

Twenty million plays and counting. Whether you can’t get enough of it or would rather get away from it, the numbers don’t lie – Hypa Hypa by German electronicore nutters ESKIMO CALLBOY has taken them to heights they probably never thought they’d scale, especially as the song is only just over eight months old. Nevertheless, it’s inspired a reissue of the EP it came from – MMXX – only this time with added Hypa Hypa remixes; naturally called the Hypa Hypa Edition.

The first half is, of course, the MMXX EP from last year, opening with the original Hypa Hypa and yes, no matter how much you listen to it, it doesn’t get any less catchy or boisterous. The rest of the EP doesn’t reach the same standard, but it’s certainly not bad: Hate/Love gives off serious FALL OUT BOY vibes and Monsieur Moustache harks back to the early days of ENTER SHIKARI, whilst MC Thunder II (Dancing Like A Ninja) takes a turn into industrial territory and Dramaqueen leans on the metalcore side of ESKIMO CALLBOY‘s sound. The acoustic Prism is a surprising way to end things, but is no less interesting; considering what’s come before, this is by far and away the easiest song on the ear.

As for the renditions of Hypa Hypa, that presents much more of a mixed bag. There are some definite highlights, the first being Saltatio Mortis‘ version that is present as a metal sea shanty, no doubt borne off the back of the nautical genre’s renewed interest thanks to TikTok, but it works really well. The BossHoss take a more country approach to the song, but in the style of HAYSEED DIXIE more than WILLIE NELSON which befits the more comedic edge that Hypa Hypa has to it. However, too much comedy ruins it, as the version by German rappers 257ERS proves – it might be chiefly in their native tongue, but the word McDonalds is universal and not part of the original Hypa Hypa, so why add it here?

Fellow countrymen WE BUTTER THE BREAD WITH BUTTER fare little better – they go from slam metal, to oompah, to deathcore, to a mix of all three; it’s too scattered and struggles to make impact as it shifts from one genre to another. The rest of the efforts are more chilled; Sasha appears on a more pop-orientated version that could easily be used in film soundtracks, the only true remix from DJ duo GESTÖRT ABER GEIL is fairly standard for that area of music but not terrible, and AXEL ONE takes the new version of MMXX home with a version geared more towards synthwave.

On its own, MMXX is a good EP with one outstanding track that has taken the alternative world by storm, and you can’t blame ESKIMO CALLBOY for capitalising on that fact. The other side is a bit hit and miss, as these things can be, but it’s a decent little package of songs; there is only one Hypa Hypa, though.

Rating: 7/10

MMXX (Hypa Hypa Edition) is set for release on May 21st via Century Media Records.

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