GutterPutter

From the past decade, one of the most beloved indie rock bands from Pennsylvania are at first not unusual in their style and influence. Their name is Hop Along and with their de-facto hiatus about to hit seven years, their three (maybe four depending on who you ask) albums seemingly looks like a run-of-the-mill staple. With only their guitarist Joe Reinhart, of Algernon Cadwallader as well, to add in some tinge of Midwest Emo-esque riffs, the band sticks close to being a pretty ordinary kind. That being said, it’s a kind of ordinary that happens to be top-notch in how well they play their instruments which isn’t going to guarantee their success. It’ll help them in their endeavour. Alongside a killer singer for a boost.

The singer, of course, is Frances Quinlan (they/them) and ever since their debut with Freshman Year in 2006, they are lauded as one of the best vocalists in the scene. Their voice is described by Stereogum as having a raspy tone, Pitchfork’s Jayson Greene noted the flexibility in how their delivery, and Greg McQueen praised the varying intonation of their singing. The acclaim therefore paves the way for Hop Along to stand out as a bit of a critic’s favourite in identifying conventional indie rock with little divergence from the usual instruments of two guitars, a bass, and a drum kit. The Denver Post went as far as to single them out as being one of the most unique singers in music. 

Much as the praises highlight the biggest strength of Hop Along, there doesn’t appear to be any kind of elaboration as to how the singing itself gives major credence to the band. Quinlan themself prides in writing lyrics that follow a stream-of-conscious form of narrative on death, authority, and relationships and they oftentimes transitions from one to another per verse. It’s not so much like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with Karen O or Against Me! with Laura Jane Grace where the vocal performance matters more than the content of what is written. Instead, many sought to praise Quinlan’s singing as well as their lyrics. Yet, they never go as far as to examine what it is about the two parts that allows Hop Along to stand out for a good while.

What is worth noting instead when it comes to the vocals is that a lot of the time, it needs to fit with the atmosphere of the lyrics so to say. Whether we think of Bob Dylan, it’s common knowledge that we don’t think of his vocals so much as the sheer impact of his lyricism. Yet, in considering why he stands out so much, we seldom argue convincingly that it’s just the writing itself that enables his very success. It’s probably simpler to note instead that it’s due to his very lack of strength in hitting the high notes or shifting his pitch which allows him to pass as an everyman recalling events of his life. 

Now, consider as well how Johnny Cash’s ‘Hurt’ isn’t his original song but is instead the final track in Nine Inch Nail’s 1994 magnum opus The Downward Spiral. What is initially written as a manifesto of self-harm and nihilism gets flipped instantly just based on the voice to being a deeply introspective reflection of an ageing has-been who ruins his life from drug abuse and self-destruction. Or the playfulness of the Life Without Buildings’s Sue Tompkins as she repeats, stutters, and weaves around her abstract lines for emotive drive. The ways that her delivery alone elicits a kind of nostalgia without needing to be more on the nose when it comes to using past tenses. Or maybe the faerie-esque wistfulness of Joanna Newsom whose albums are dense with literary references and mythic allusions that demand striking, symbolic images. The main point is that for a music artist to come off as special or at the very least distinctive, their voice needs to fit with the mood conveyed by their songs.

Hop Along is no exception. If anything, Quinlan’s intonation of their singing is the most unique component for the band’s formation of their cult following. Take for instance ‘Tibetan Pop Star’ from 2012’s Get Disowned where they stretch out the stressed syllables of “rivers”, “you”, “India”, and other words to highlight the pain of moving onward with breaking up. Their retention of their melody wavers whether they try to consistently hit the high notes, but that only adds to the emotive sentiment of the ordeal. It therefore adds a lot of weight to the chorus and the bridge where, in imagining their ex as wandering aimlessly in South Asia, they break at the prospect of pushing their ex out of their life completely.

Or, in another example, both ‘How Simple’ and ‘Prior Things’ from 2018’s Bark Your Head Off Dog (also their most recent release as a band). In ‘How Simple’, they repeat “one” in a tone that was applied to “advancing” and “banshee sun” in the first two verses to set up an anxious break when they begin to question whether they want to commit to a long-term relationship. This then breaks into a Tompkins-esque cheer for the lessons that come with the end of love, thereby making a contrapuntal flip between the optimism that the romance is done for and the pessimism of commitment. Meanwhile, ‘Prior Things’ has the chorus be sung playfully in a way that loops back to the former song before with a desire for wanting a love interest, halfway through, Quinlan opts to flip in favour of moving on while they’re “in [their] prime”. With a lower register for singing at first, there’s a realm of uncertainty in wanting to commit before the final third of the song where they begin to sing more loudly when they sought to “resume [their] little lower road”.

Lastly, even as far back as 2005 does Quinlan’s singing help make one of their oldest songs, ‘Bruno is Orange’, a retrospective viral hit in the early 2020s. Interpreted as being about a forbidden interracial relationship, they notably did not take a pause for a solo guitar performance nor did they try to flex their range. Instead, they quickly sang through the verses almost tirelessly and they are largely restrained which highlights the paranoia surrounding being prosecuted for their romance. That’s until the third verse when they shout out the titular Bruno’s name where there’s a clear crack, highlighting the drama that comes with the eventual incarceration. This not only allows the track to come off as being easy to follow with its narrative, but it’s the density in the lyrics compared to the mere 3-minute duration that makes it ripe for analysis for later fans.

The way that Quinlan delivers vocally throughout their discography is therefore key to how Hop Along succeeds in their run throughout the 2010s. Their versatility in delivery ensures that much of the songs are memorable in their own way with their own personality. Now, the band is about to reach 7 years without an album, Quinlan having yet to release their solo record since 2020’s Likewise. There is however good potential that should the band find the time to record another album together in the age of TikTok that they might break through completely. And what better way to sell themselves than through their frontperson’s vocal prowess.