Frances Quinlan, the raging fire that burns at the center of Philadelphia indie favorites Hop Along, has a solo album called Likewise dropping at the end of the month. It finds her experimenting with a diverse range of sounds, some of which (the trembling shapeshifter “Now That I’m Back“) live closer to Hop Along’s wheelhouse than others (the synth-powered “Rare Thing“). Today she’s sharing a third single from the album, the one that comes closest to the Bark Your Head Off, Dog aesthetic.

“Your Reply” might be Quinlan’s version of a Joni Mitchell song, a propulsive and occasionally galloping folk-pop number that’s loose and carefree in delivery despite its emotional depth. What begins with some literary analysis of a novel she’s reading expands into an expansive narrative that leaves a lot to the imagination (and provides plenty of fodder for it). It centers on a fateful impasse in communication.

Here’s an interpretation from Quinlan herself:

There can be a one-sidedness to even the most loving and rewarding relationships. We will always have a part of ourselves we can’t or don’t know how to share. There are so many risks involved. Regardless, I think of this song as celebratory. If anything, the speaker is frustrated at coming so close to understanding another person completely, but perhaps only just missing the mark. But still what a gift that is, to come close.

This one’s a real gem, so bask in its glimmer, why don’t you?

Quinlan produced all the art for Likewise including the self-portrait that serves as the album’s cover art. In conjunction with the album release, she’ll do popup exhibitions 1/29 in NYC at the Selina Chelsea and 3/13 in Los Angeles at Junior High. Her artwork will also be displayed in the Blackwing Pop Up space in Rough Trade NYC for the month of February.

TOUR DATES:
01/13 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East In-Store
01/15 – London, UK @ Five Day Forecast Festival
01/19 – Chicago, IL @ Tomorrow Never Knows Festival at Sleeping Village +
01/23 – Milwaukee, WI @ Pabst Theater *
01/30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Sultan Room
03/01 – San Francisco, CA @ Noise Pop at Swedish American Music Hall #
03/03 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir #
03/05 – Seattle, WA @ Columbia City Theater #
03/06 – Vancouver, BC @ The Rubber Boot Club #
03/07 – Victoria, BC @ TBA #
03/11 – Big Sur, CA @ Henry Miller Memorial Library #
03/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Pico Union Project #
03/14 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah #
03/16-21 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
+ = support from Indigo De Souza
* = supporting Ben Gibbard
# = support from Mary Lattimore

Likewise is out 1/31 on Saddle Creek. Pre-order it here.