Philadelphia’s Hop Along will release their third studio album Bark Your Head Off, Dog on April 6 on Saddle Creek, also available as a 500-copy limited edition tri-color striped vinyl Saddle Creek Store Exclusive.
The formidable nine-song collection is the band’s strongest and most cohesive album to date. Crafted by Frances Quinlan (songwriter, lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist), Tyler Long (bass), Joe Reinhart (guitar), and Mark Quinlan (drums), the album considers what it’s like to cast off longheld and misguided perceptions, yet without the assurance of knowing what new ones will replace them. Quinlan has been meditating a lot on power. In this particular moment in history, this thought begs a greater question: what do we do with power and the men who so freely brandish it? “So strange to be shaped by such strange men” is a line that repeats on more than one song on the album. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot. That I just deferred to men throughout my life,” Quinlan says. “But by thinking you’re powerless, you’re really robbing yourself. I’m at a point in my life where I’m saying instead, ‘Well, what can I do?’
Self-produced and recorded at The Headroom in Philadelphia by Reinhart and Kyle Pulley, Bark Your Head Off, Dog features the familiar sounds that have always made the band allergic to genre: grunge, folk, punk, and power pop all appear, with inspiration from ELO to Elvis Costello to ‘70s girl group vocal arrangements. This time around, they’ve added strings, more intricate rhythms, lush harmonies (featuring Thin Lips’ Chrissy Tashjian), along with a momentary visit with a vocoder. In more than one place, Mark Quinlan drums like he’s at a disco with Built to Spill. Bark Your Head Off, Dog is, without question, Hop Along’s most dynamic and textured record yet.
Hop Along have announced Spring tour dates in support of the album. See them below.
5/1: Ithaca, NY @ The Haunt
5/2: Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts
5/3: Boston, MA @ Royale
5/5: Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
5/6: Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry
5/7: Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
5/8: Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall
5/10: Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
5/11: Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
5/12: Nashville, TN @ Exit / In
5/14: Indianapolis, IN @ The Hi-Fi
5/15: Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
5/19: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
5/30: Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
6/1: Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
6/2: Montreal, QC @ Le Belmont
6/3: South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
6/5: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
6/6: Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit
6/8: Toronto, ON @The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
6/9: Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch
6/10: Chicago, IL @ Metro
6/12: Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
6/13: St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
6/16: Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room
6/18: Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
6/19: Austin, TX @ Barracuda
6/22: St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
6/23: Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar