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Frances Quinlanis still getting used to performing with backing tracks.
You could say Quinlans previous decade-plus of fronting Philly indie act Hop Along has been the polar-opposite experience.
This week, the 33-year-old singer releases her first album under her own name, the sparse, synth-favoringLikewise.
Across three albums, theyve framed Quinlans pristine voice with rough, amplified punk performance.
Quinlan turned to Reinhart, also her bands go-to producer and engineer, to strip all that away onLikewise.
It was really fun to just let songs transform.
Then its just a job.
Two of the songs were Went to LA and A Secret.
I knew I wanted to do more songs with Joe [Reinhart].
And now its come back from that.Quite honestly, I do miss the band.
Thats a stretch of time.
I wanted to be able to do more writing on the road as well.
It starts to feel a little stagnant in Philly.
So the goal is to write for Hop Along while Im on the road.
Its interesting, because Hop Along is still active.
This is the first time Ive really had to navigate anything besides Hop Along.
Rare Thing is the one song that the whole band worked on.
How was that process different?With Hop Along, everybody has got a strong hand in the arrangement.
We all tour so much, we all wanna enjoy what were playing.
I will say, Mark and Tyler came up with their parts.
Of course, I think that comes out of the benefit from having worked together for so long.
Being the first song on the album, it kind of sets a new tone for me.
]One thing that I attempt to do is not make songs feel too insular.
I like the idea of being able to move through scenes within songs, and then throughout a record.
So bringing in bits of history, and then having abstract moments, and then having very real-time moments.
I like how theres no rules in narrative when it comes to songwriting.
The lines that stick with me are, oddly, the more factual things.
Like, Are pigeons cannibalistic?Those are all things that stuck with me too.
It was so much fun to play live, and I would include it regularly into my solo sets.
Joe was like, Lets try a tremolo guitar, okay, lets try some Rhodes [piano].
Then we were recording the vocals, and Joe called me into the control room.
It completely transformed the song to me.
How are you feeling about performing and starting a tour as Frances Quinlan, solo?Im excited.
I mean, Hop Along started in 2008.
So it is a vulnerable thing, and Im certainly navigating that sense of vulnerability.
Its a challenge for me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
