I want to pre-fix this entire review by saying, if you’re yet to listen to Hop Along you’re missing out on your new favourite band. Hop Along is Frances Quinlan, Mark Quinlan, and Tyler Long, who are all residents of one of my favourite musical places, Philadelphia. ‘Get Disowned’ was written over the course of 2 years and is their first full length release, and it was entirely worth the wait. Released on Hot Green Records in the US and getting a release over here on Big Scary Monsters Records, it’s now easier than ever to get involved in this band.
The record is 10 tracks at 40 minutes long but it doesn’t feel like that kind of length and in my eyes, that’s a positive. When you can get completely lost in a record to only realise you’ve finished the album before it began is something unique and doesn’t happen anywhere near as much as I wish it would. It’s obvious from the start that the guiding force behind this band are Frances’ vocals which lapse between vulnerable and gritty growls filled with raw emotion. I think the emotion of the record maintains itself throughout and never falters leaving you attached to every song as if it were one of your own writing.
If I were to categorise Hop Along I’d probably throw them into the indie/emo genre, but even then it’s detached from either of these in certain aspects. Tracks like ‘Tibetan Popstars’ and ‘Kids On The Boardwalk’ are my stand out tracks but that’s not to say every track on this album couldn’t be a “single”. It’s an album made up entirely of stand out tracks but for me personally, those two songs offer a little extra something. Maybe it’s the complete honesty of the vocals “I want truth and beauty/I want to love someone simply” or maybe it’s the message behind them delivered with such vigour from such an idyllic voice that catches me out every time I listen to them.
Without analysing every track individually on this record it’s really hard to say much more. It’s entirely deserving of my praise and the praise it’s been getting elsewhere. Hop Along go on tour with The Sidekicks around the UK soon and you’d be a damn fool to miss the closest show to you.
5/5
‘Get Disowned’ by Hop Along is out now on Big Scary Monsters.
Hop Along links: Facebook|Twitter|Tumblr|Bandcamp
Words by Rosie Kerr (@Rosiekerr)
