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Frances Quinlan
Quinlan in 2018
Quinlan in 2018
Background information
Birth nameChristine Frances Quinlan[1]
Born (1986-05-07) May 7, 1986 (age 38)
OriginNew Jersey, U.S.
Quakertown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
LabelsSaddle Creek
Member ofHop Along

Christine Frances Quinlan (born May 7, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and visual artist best known for fronting Philadelphia indie rock band Hop Along.

Career

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Early life

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Quinlan was raised in northern New Jersey and Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and was an active reader in their youth.[2]

Their parents, whom they have described as "big music fans", introduced them to artists such as Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, and The Kinks at an early age.[3] They initially attempted to learn to play the electric guitar at age 13, but became frustrated and gave up. However, after their brother Andrew introduced them to musicians such as Ani DiFranco, Fiona Apple, and Lauryn Hill, they revisited the instrument and were more successful. They began songwriting and working on musical projects with their brother.[2][4] They worked as a house painter during this time.[5]

Musical career

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In the mid-2000s, Quinlan began a solo acoustic project in college at Maryland Institute College of Art.[6] During this time, they released their debut EP, Songs of the Sea.[2]

Quinlan recorded their first solo album, Freshman Year, under the name Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, in 2005, between their freshman and sophomore years of high school.[7] They distributed the album on burned CDs.[6] After graduation, their other brother, Mark, joined them on drums as they developed the project,[8] which was renamed Hop Along.[6] Hop Along's debut album Get Disowned was released in 2012 to critical acclaim. Hop Along's 2015 studio album Painted Shut was also praised by critics for its "immediacy and emotional depth", led by Quinlan's voice.[8] Quinlan lived in Philadelphia in the mid-2010s, where they wrote the lyrics to the band's fourth album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog.[8]

Quinlan's debut solo album, Likewise was released on January 31, 2020 through Saddle Creek Records. Hop Along guitarist Joe Reinhart appears on the album performing guitar and bass. Quinlan created the album's cover art, as they have done for every prior album released under Hop Along.[7]

Quinlan was scheduled to perform at SXSW in 2020, but this appearance was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.[9]

Quinlan recorded the song "Another Season", which plays through the end credits of the 2024 psychological horror drama film I Saw the TV Glow.[10]

Artistry

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Quinlan is known for the raspy tone of their singing voice,[11] airy falsetto and harsh screams.[12] The Denver Post wrote that Quinlan's vocal style employs "sensitive whispers and grunge-worthy howls in the same song, melodic and unhinged and precise and vulnerable all at once."[13] Jayson Greene of Pitchfork said Quinlan "doesn’t have one voice—[they] might have 10. Listing them would yield no insight, only a deranged sommelier’s tasting notes: cat, bugle, Rod Stewart, roaring motorcycle."[14] Gabriela Tully Claymore of Stereogum said Quinlan's voice "sounds like a gravelly rasp that got run over and then dipped in honey or something."[15]

Quinlan's lyrics often follow a narrative format[16][17] and range from autobiographical to completely fictional in nature.[18] Arielle Gordon Spin Magazine called Quinlan a "purveyor of fairy tales disguised as charming indie rock".[19] Quinlan said "my experience is like a mire of thoughts [...] I cannot compartmentalize at all. Everything is bleeding into each other, it's a mess."[20]

The album artwork for every Hop Along release thus far has been an original painting created by Quinlan.[21]

Legacy

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Jesse David Fox of Vulture called Quinlan "a rock singer's rock singer".[22] Gabriela Tully Claymore of Stereogum said "I truly believe in my heart of hearts that Frances Quinlan is a national treasure."[23] John Wenzel of the Denver Post credited Quinlan’s voice as Hop Along's greatest asset, calling it "so full of fury and lament, and seemingly capable of blowing out speakers and eardrums in equal measure," concluding that "there’s simply nothing else like it in contemporary music."[24]

Personal life

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Quinlan came out as non-binary through a thread of tweets on January 22, 2021. They revealed that they chose to start going by their middle name after high school in an attempt to distance themselves from a role they claimed to have never "understood or felt agency with". Quinlan's pronouns are they/them.[25]

Quinlan has stated that they are unsure of how they feel regarding the issue of religion.[26]

In between tours, Quinlan works at a housepainting business owned by their aunt.[27]

Quinlan has expressed their appreciation for ambient music artists such as Brian Eno, saying "for some reason, I’ve just been drawn to music without lyrics — as a lyricist, I don’t know what that is [...] I like to read to it."[28]

Discography

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Studio albums

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References

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  1. ^ "ASCAP Ace Search - Frances Quinlan". ASCAP. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Schemmer, Cynthia (June 10, 2015). "A Graceful Scream". Impose Magazine. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "Girls Rock Philly Interviews: Frances Quinlan". YouTube. July 12, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  4. ^ "An Interview with Hop Along's Frances Quinlan".
  5. ^ "An Interview with Hop Along: With Eyes Painted Shut | the Aquarian". January 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Vettese, John (August 21, 2015). "We're reasonably sure Hop Along is reissuing its coveted debut Freshman Year on vinyl". WXPN. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (October 22, 2019). "Hop Along's Frances Quinlan Announces Debut Solo Album, Shares New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Vozick-Levinson, Simon (August 21, 2018). "Hop Along Are Busy Being Born". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  9. ^ https://pitchfork.com/news/coronavirus-updated-list-of-tours-and-festivals-canceled-or-postponed-due-to-covid-19/
  10. ^ McMenamin, Lex (June 19, 2024). "How 'I Saw the TV Glow' Made the Perfect Teen Angst Movie Soundtrack". Teen Vogue. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "SXSW 2018: I Am Obsessed With Hop Along". Stereogum. March 15, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  12. ^ https://www.spin.com/2018/04/hop-along-bark-your-head-off-dog-review/
  13. ^ "Hop Along's Frances Quinlan is coming through loud and clear". The Denver Post. February 4, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  14. ^ Greene, Jayson. "Hop Along: Bark Your Head Off, Dog". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  15. ^ "SXSW 2018: I Am Obsessed With Hop Along". Stereogum. March 15, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  16. ^ "Album Review: Hop Along - "Painted Shut"". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  17. ^ Griffith, Rachael (May 23, 2015). "Review: Hop Along - Painted Shut". Cherwell. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  18. ^ McPherson, Steve (June 3, 2015). "» Q&A: Hop Along's Frances Quinlan on the Band's New Album and the Art of Storytelling in Indie Rock". Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  19. ^ https://www.spin.com/2018/04/hop-along-bark-your-head-off-dog-review/
  20. ^ https://www.npr.org/2018/04/02/597609359/first-listen-hop-along-bark-your-head-off-dog
  21. ^ Spruch, Kirsten (January 31, 2020). "How Frances Quinlan's Songwriting 'Chaos' Created One of the Year's Best Indie Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  22. ^ Fox, Jesse David; writer, a Vulture; Jokes, host of Good One: A. Podcast About (May 8, 2015). "Is This the Best Voice in Rock Music Today?". Vulture. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  23. ^ "SXSW 2018: I Am Obsessed With Hop Along". Stereogum. March 15, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  24. ^ "Hop Along's Frances Quinlan is coming through loud and clear". The Denver Post. February 4, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  25. ^ Rossignol, Derrick (January 22, 2021). "Frances Quinlan Of Hop Along Has Come Out As Nonbinary". UPROXX. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  26. ^ Rytlewski, Evan (June 5, 2018). "Hop Along's Frances Quinlan on the Importance of Staying Flexible". Shepherd Express. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  27. ^ "Hop Along, Like a Wrecking Ball". April 27, 2015.
  28. ^ "The Way We Get By: Frances Quinlan is Rethinking How She's Defined Success". Talkhouse. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  29. ^ "Likewise by Frances Quinlan on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved November 25, 2019.

Further reading

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