Biography
Hop Along is an indie rock band from Philadelphia, fronted by singer, guitarist and songwriter Frances Quinlan, who plays with her brother, drummer Mark Quinlan.[1] Their second album, Painted Shut, arrived on Saddle Creek in 2015 after the band signed to the label the previous fall.[2]
Quinlan came to songwriting with a background in painting and creative writing, and her lyrics are often described as sharply visual.[3] She worked bar and restaurant jobs in Philadelphia, experiences that fed songs such as "Waitress."[4]
The project began in 2004 as an acoustic solo effort that Quinlan started during their senior year of high school, under the name Hop Along, Queen Ansleis.[5] Mark Quinlan joined on drums and bassist Tyler Long followed, and the name was shortened as the project became a band.
The group's debut full-length, Get Disowned (2012), was produced by Joe Reinhart, later a full member, and took about two years to record at Headroom Studios in North Philadelphia.[6] Quinlan has said that the injury or death of several close family members and friends fed their songwriting, and that they do not want to stop talking about death.[7] The album's reputation grew slowly, with its second track, "Tibetan Pop Stars," becoming the band's best-known early song.[6]
Their fourth album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog, followed on Saddle Creek on April 6, 2018, recorded at Joe Reinhart's Headroom studio in Philadelphia with strings, harps and mandolins widening the band's sound.[8] Quinlan has said the album's "Not Abel" was partly inspired by Karl Ove Knausgaard's novel A Time for Everything, which retells Bible stories in a domestic key, and that she is unsure of her own religious beliefs.[9]
References
- Hop Along: 'It's Fun To Freak Out' (WNYC Soundcheck) — Interview touching on Quinlan's songwriting and playing in a band with her brother.
- Saddle Creek signee Hop Along's lauded record, empty beings and singular voice (Hear Nebraska) — Feature in which Quinlan discusses Waitress and Powerful Man as her first clearly self-speaking songs, her voice, and the album's themes.
- Songs We Love: Hop Along, 'Waitress' (NPR) — NPR write-up of the single, noting the contrast between dark words and joyful music, and Quinlan's painting and writing background.
- Inside Headroom Studio with Hop Along (WXPN) — Quinlan on the origin of Waitress, the Headroom Studio sessions with John Agnello, and the album's cover art.
- Hop Along (Wikipedia) — Band history, origins as Quinlan's solo project and lineup.
- Get Disowned (Wikipedia) — Recording and reception of the 2012 debut.
- Review: Hop Along, Get Disowned (Spin) — Quinlan's 2012 comments on death and loss as songwriting subjects.
- Bark Your Head Off, Dog (Wikipedia) — Album recording, personnel and reception.
- Hop Along Release Biblical New Single, "Not Abel" (Paste) — Quinlan on Knausgaard and Cain.