Sunday 10 May 2015

Hop Along


Hop Along was originally known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, and was formed in 2004 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hop Along originated with one member, Frances Quinlan. In 2006, they released a little album called Freshman Year, that introduced the world to their folky storytelling, consisting of stories that sound more like diary anecdotes in the form of witty lyrics. Their unique vocal drawl, catchy songwriting, and penchant for creating unique music (both instrumentally and lyrically) made for an amazing album. It was a very modest effort, and sounds more like a personal recording than a formal debut, but perhaps that's where it gets its charm from.

In 2009, Quinlan was joined by another three individuals to round off the full-band line-up, which is when they formally became "Hop Along". Two EP's were released that year, but the real attention was brought by their 2012 debut album, Get Disowned. The ingenious songwriting of Quinlan was brought into a full-band context, which sounds like a mesh of 90's slacker rock like Pavement, the indie/folk honesty of Bright Eyes, and the power pop-punk energy of Waxahatchee or Lemuria. Even with the addition of electric guitars and drums, the intimate and modest sound that made Freshman Year so good still translates to the new album. These songs are stunning, and they are still as catchy and lyrically open as before, the full band only adds a whole other dynamic to make these songs even more interesting. The instrumentals are just as unique as the core songwriting. Hop Along just put out their sophomore album, Painted Shut, and even after a few listens, it is evident that they have done nothing but progress in the three years since Get Disowned was released. If you want some amazing songwriting, catchy hooks, a distinct and impressive voice, all backed by some nice guitar work, Hop Along is exactly what you should be listening to. Enjoy.

1. _
2. Sirens
3. For Sebastian From A Friend
4. Elizabeth & Elizabeth
5. The Cactus
6. Failure
7. The Big House
8. Of My Brothers And The Bear
9. Organ Song
10. Hi Too Loo Rye
11. Laments Of A Mattress
12. Bruno is Orange
13. Bride And Groom Hot Air Balloon
14. The Goose & The Wren
15. Workers
16. A Drummer's Arm 

1. Junkyard James
2. Coney Island
3. Bay Area Baby
4. La Strada
5. Cow Eyes
6. Green Water
7. Breakfast Song

1. Bridge And Groom
2. Sally
3. Second Voice
4. For The Bonzai Tree You Bought 4 Me

1. Some Grace
2. Tibetan Pop Stars
3. Diamond Mine
4. No Good Al Joad
5. Kids On The Boardwalk
6. Laments
7. Trouble Found Me
8. Sally II
9. Young And HappyA!
10. Get Disowned

1. The Knock
2. Buddy In The Parade
3. Horseshoe Crabs
4. Waitress
5. Happy To See Me
6. Texas Funeral
7. Powerful Man
8. I Saw My Twin
9. Well-dressed
10. Sister Cities

1. How Simple
2. Somewhere A Judge
3. How You Got Your Limp
4. Not Abel
5. The Fox In Motion
6. One That Suits Me
7. What The Writer Meant
8. Look Of Love
9. Prior Things

10 comments:

  1. Hop Along is probably one of my favorite bands and everything they have is so good! Nice!

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  2. Request- No Bragging Rights please!!

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  3. If you could upload Now, Now that wouldbe awesome. Specifically their older stuff as Now Now Every Children

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  4. I found your site looking for some deep cuts from Hop Along and I'm blown away by all the rarities you have from so many awesome bands. Thank you!

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  5. It's worth mentioning that Joe from Algernon Cadwallader is the guitarist for these guys! Awesome stuff, thanks so much!

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  6. do you have lyrics for Is Something Wrong?

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  7. Thank you so much! A must-see at Coachella now :)

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  8. You never disappoint. Thanks <3 L

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  9. Hop Along, Queen Ansleis's Songs of the Sea: Semi Nautical Themes and Sympathetic Flypaper demos are missing :( They predate Freshman Year. Released when Francis was around 18, I think.

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  10. Is Something Wrong is empty! does anyone know where I can download it?

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