Their early work is best classified as part of the third wave of ska music, or as ska-punk, though in the later years of their career the band transitioned to a more synthesizer-driven power pop and rock sound.
The Hippos formed in Los Angeles, California in 1995 with a lineup of Ariel Rechtshaid on vocals and guitar, James Bairian on bass, Louis Castle on trumpet, Danny Rukasin on trombones, Roman Flyscher on saxophone, James' older brother Brandon Bairian on auxiliary percussion, and Kyle Briggs on drums.
Jointly released February 1997 through Fueled by Ramen and Stiff Dog Records, the album was essentially a traditional ska punk effort focusing on upbeat tempos and heavy brass instrumentation.
A track from the album, Irie, was used on the soundtrack of the movie The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave, which was released straight to video in January 2000.
Musically the album found the band transitioning to a more power pop sound, using fewer ska rhythms and instead incorporating synthesizers.
Over the next few years the band rehearsed and recorded new songs with Nate Morton, Blair Sinta, and Garrett Ray, expanding their use of keyboards, synthesizers, and programming.
Ariel Rechtshaid played in Dirty Little Secret for a brief period before joining the group Foreign Born, but more recently has focused exclusively on music production and songwriting work, working with artists such as Haim, Vampire Weekend, Taking Back Sunday, We Are Scientists, Plain White Tees, Cass McCombs, Snoop Dogg, and many more.
In 2006 he relocated to Portland, Oregon where he released a solo album under the name Long Distance Runner and joined the bands Junkface and Pine.