The Eclectic Aura of Frances Quinlan

Francis Quinlan’s first solo record, Likewise, was released on January 31st following a short string of solo performances, one of which I was lucky enough to catch at Sleeping Village here in Chicago a few weeks ago. She still had the same electric aura even though it was solely her on stage. She commanded the room with just her guitar, a few pedals, and her flourishing voice.

Quinlan is the front woman of the band Hop Along, who I have seen twice. They have safely cemented themselves as one of my favorite bands, shortly after discovering them during my sophomore year of college. Her solo work is different, as it should be, but so much of the character that drew me to Hop Along initially is still there in the songs on Likewise.

She experiments with a new plethora of instruments and embellishments, like synthesizers and piano, but none of it feels forced. The song “Lean” includes some strings and soft accompaniment. One song called “Secret” is purely acoustic; feeling like a bit of a whisper. This album has room for all varieties of volume. In “Now That I’m Back”, the song starts with a voice decoder or some sort of filter, almost sounding like it is coming over an old radio. 

There’s a nice balance on the album, it never feels top-heavy. This can sometimes happen with solo albums, trying to overcompensate, making the album inaccessible and awkward. Quinlan explores new ground, but these musical nods to the work that came before, helps weave these songs into the ones we already know. Even though Frances Quinlan is much more than Hop Along, it is still a part of her no matter what. A good example of a great solo album is Rostam’s (a previous member of Vampire Weekend), Half-Life.

Any conversation about Quinlan could not happen without a mention about her voice. She debatably has one of the best voices in alternative rock. She has so much control and can within seconds go from a harsh howl to a smooth crystalline falsetto. Some may not the texture of her voice. However, I love the roughness of her voice. I think it makes her entire sound so unique and it provides so much emotion to the songs it accompanies. Her voice is hers, nobody else sounds like her. On this album, we still get to hear the full range of her. Her voice truly is an instrument, and one that is as complicated as an oboe or French horn. 

Frances also has an incredibly interesting use of syllables. The other singer that I immediately thought of was Amy Winehouse. Obviously, they are very different singers and performers in two different genres—however, the way that they stretch out words into a few extra beats, almost creating a new dialect, is really distinct. Winehouse did a similar thing in her music, which was probably tied to her growing up singing and listening to jazz. This could best be heard from Quinlan in “Carry the Zero” on the album, but it was present in every single song. 

I’m aware that this is how singing works, but it feels different when I think of these two singers. There’s something about their manipulation of the words that almost exceeds the medium of singing. This makes their songs hard to cover because so much of what makes their songs their songs is the way that they’re sung, and can’t easily be replicated. 

Hop Along’s songs are weird and usually about questionable events, but moments that were rooted in reality and everyday happenings. Quinlan wrote a lot of Hop Along’s catalogue, so these observations continued on Likewise. For example, in “Detroit Lake”, there is a mention about a conversation surrounding whether or not pigeons could be cannibals. This would be something that might pop up in a conversation on a random Sunday afternoon; a question your best friend would pose to you— and before you knew it, you’d be trying to track down a definitive answer on Google. Or the mention of “Voltaire’s severed head” in “Now That I’m Back.” I’m frankly not too sure what this song is about, but she uses these phrases to conjure images, that create paintings in your head, like a scattered still life. I might not always fully know what I’m looking at, but I could grasp the tone and the color palette she is trying to portray.

The album held onto the spirit of Hop Along, but it provides a completely different landscape for Quinlan to explore her own personal ideas and experiences. She used the same fabric of Hop Along but instead of making pants and dresses, she has created drapes and tote bags. The album is nine songs and is tightly constructed, a weatherproof album that could withstand the elements. It’s a great starting point for anyone who hasn’t listened to Hop Along. If you love this, boy, is there a lot more waiting for you.