Hop Along

Philadelphia indie rock outfit Hop Along, fronted by the distinctive singer, songwriter, and guitarist Frances Quinlan, crafts impulsive music infused with punk elements. The band's roots trace back to Quinlan's solo lo-fi indie folk endeavor under the moniker Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, which put out its sole album, Freshman Year, during 2005. In 2008, her sibling Mark Quinlan came aboard as drummer. Bassist Tyler Long joined the following year in 2009, prompting a shortening of the band name to Hop Along. Following the 2009 EPs Wretches and Is Something Wrong?, the collective's debut full-length effort as a band, Get Disowned, took shape gradually across two years at Headroom Studios located in Philadelphia before its 2012 release, which garnered favorable attention from indie music critics. Guitarist Joe Reinhart became part of the lineup in 2014, coinciding with Hop Along's signing to Saddle Creek Records. Their second album, Painted Shut, arrived the next year and earned spots on multiple prominent end-of-year rankings, such as Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2015, partly due to its unfiltered and honest lyrical content; it also charted on Billboard's rock, independent, vinyl, and Heatseekers lists. April 2018 saw the arrival of Bark Your Head Off, Dog, which was likewise tracked at Headroom and incorporated a broader sonic range with the addition of strings and backing vocalists.