vinyl LP pressing

Hop Along has had multiple lives.First conceptualized as a freak-folk solo act by Frances Quinlan, it progressed towards a fuller sound with the addition of Mark Quinlan on drums, Tyler Long on bass and Joe Reinhart (Algernon Cadwallader, Dogs on Acid) on guitar. Emerging as one of musics most unique songwriters, the captivating vignettes Frances has weaved tell vivid stories of desperation and weary awakening. Theirpowerful voice is a spellbinding entity all its own, celebratory and raw, and one that cant be shaken away.

Like their debut (2012sGet Disowned),Painted Shutis a series of accounts, a procession of fleeting and repeating characters.However, it diverges from its predecessor in its close-up, controlled approach (most of the album features the band recording live), and more focused portraiture.WhereasGet Disownedcalls forth a dreamy collage of protagonists in a tone thats often anthemic and surreal,Painted Shutis a grounded, less merciful image of many struggling adults (and children) in a severe landscape.

Often depicted inPainted Shutare the two lives of legendary (though generally unknown) musicians, Buddy Bolden and Jackson C. Frank, who were plagued with mental illness until their penniless deaths.Included are accounts of more everyday poverty, abuse, greed; and banal, sub-par behavior. Society is unveiled as a structure that, in reality, was most certainly not built with everyone in mind. Clearly this is difficult subject matter. Yet the songs themselves move unencumbered and easily, forming angular pop anti-anthems, at times jubilant as well as irreverent.Somehow, they are not sad songs.There is joy, in the abandon of Frances unforgettable voice, in the exulting choruses.One wakes to a sky that is a bright, ageless blue. Its morning and so clear outside that multitudes of lives can be seen, in focus despite the distance.All of this is viewed through a window sealed with cracked paint that cannot be opened on either side. That is how we must often view the lives of others, especially when it comes to people who have lived and gone from this world.Thats another story.Painted Shutwas co-produced, recorded and mixed by John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, etc.) in the great cities of Philadelphia and Brooklyn, and incidentally finished in the shortest span of time the band has ever made anything.

Release Date: May 4th, 2015

TRACK LIST
01. The Knock
02. Buddy in the Parade
03. Horseshoe Crabs
04. Waitress
05. Happy to See Me
06. Texas Funeral
07. Powerful Man
08. I Saw My Twin
09. Well-dressed
10. Sister Cities