Frances Quinlan | |
|---|---|
 Quinlan in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Christine Frances Quinlan [1] |
| Born | May 7, 1986 |
| Origin | New Jersey, U.S. Quakertown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Labels | Saddle Creek |
| Member of | Hop Along |
Christine Frances Quinlan (born May 7, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and visual artist best known for fronting Philadelphia indie rock band Hop Along.
Quinlan was raised in northern New Jersey and Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and was an active reader in their youth. [2] Quinlan was encouraged by their mother to create art, and was later encouraged to pursue art as a career by their high school art teacher. [3]
Their parents, whom they have described as "big music fans", introduced them to artists such as Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, and The Kinks at an early age. [4] They initially attempted to learn to play the electric guitar at age 13, but became frustrated and gave up. However, after their brother Andrew introduced them to musicians such as Ani DiFranco, Fiona Apple, and Lauryn Hill, they revisited the instrument and were more successful. They began songwriting and working on musical projects with their brother. [2] [5] They worked as a house painter during this time. [6]
Quinlan began playing shows in Philadelphia through connections made on Myspace and in the punk rock and hardcore punk scenes. Quinlan was then discovered by Mattie Canino of RIVIR and Latterman, who further supported them early in their career. [7] In the mid-2000s, Quinlan began a solo acoustic project in college at Maryland Institute College of Art. [8] During this time, they released their debut EP, Songs of the Sea. [2]
Quinlan recorded their first solo album, Freshman Year, under the name Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, in 2005, between their freshman and sophomore years of high school. [9] They distributed the album on burned CDs. [8] After graduation, their other brother, Mark, joined them on drums as they developed the project, [10] which was renamed Hop Along. [8] Hop Along's debut album Get Disowned was released in 2012 to critical acclaim. Hop Along's 2015 studio album Painted Shut was also praised by critics for its "immediacy and emotional depth", led by Quinlan's voice. [10] Quinlan lived in Philadelphia in the mid-2010s, where they wrote the lyrics to the band's fourth album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog . [10]
Quinlan's debut solo album, Likewise was released on January 31, 2020 through Saddle Creek Records. Hop Along guitarist Joe Reinhart appears on the album performing guitar and bass. Quinlan created the album's cover art, as they have done for every prior album released under Hop Along. [9]
Quinlan was scheduled to perform at SXSW in 2020, but this appearance was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. [11]
Quinlan recorded the song "Another Season", which plays through the end credits of the 2024 psychological horror drama film I Saw the TV Glow . [12]
Numerous publications have made note of the raspy tone of Quinlan's singing voice, [13] as well as their "emotive" vocal delivery, airy falsetto and harsh screams. [14] [15] Spin wrote that their vocal delivery alternates between "tender and savage", and The Denver Post wrote that they employ "sensitive whispers and grunge-worthy howls in the same song, melodic and unhinged and precise and vulnerable all at once." [16] [17] Jayson Greene of Pitchfork said Quinlan "doesn’t have one voice—[they] might have 10" and that attempting to list them "would yield no insight", while loosely describing Quinlan's tone as an algamation of the sounds of a cat, a bugle, Rod Stewart and a motorcycle. [18] Gabriela Tully Claymore of Stereogum said Quinlan's voice "sounds like a gravelly rasp that got run over and then dipped in honey or something." [19] Gregg McQueen of the Aquarian described Quinlan's vocals as "otherworldly" and delineated them as "part rasp, part sweetness, a chameleonic tool that can mutate seamlessly from croon to howl." [20] Quinlan's voice is also noted for its wide range. Stereogum called Quinlan's voice "scratchy and muscular and resistant in all the right places [...] You can almost hear the blood gurgling in the back of [their] throat as [they] strain to get every word out." [21]
Quinlan designates themself as a rhythm guitarist "at the end of the day", claiming to use "odd forms" of chord voicings in their playing. They did not start using a pick to play guitar until 2015. [22]
Quinlan's lyrics often follow a narrative format [23] [24] and range from autobiographical to completely fictional in nature. [25] Arielle Gordon Spin Magazine called Quinlan a "purveyor of fairy tales disguised as charming indie rock". [26] Quinlan themself said "my experience is like a mire of thoughts [...] I cannot compartmentalize at all. Everything is bleeding into each other, it's a mess." [27]
Quinlan is known for their abstract painting style. [28] The album artwork for every Hop Along release thus far has been an original painting created by Quinlan. [29]
Quinlan has cited Björk, Joanna Newsom and Bob Dylan as musical and creative inspirations. [30]
Jesse David Fox of Vulture called Quinlan "a rock singer's rock singer". [31] Gabriela Tully Claymore of Stereogum called Quinlan a "national treasure". [32] John Wenzel of the Denver Post said "there’s simply nothing else like [Quinlan's voice] in contemporary music." [33]
Quinlan is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. They came out through a thread of tweets on January 22, 2021. They revealed that they chose to start going by their middle name after high school in an attempt to distance themselves from a role that they claimed to have never "understood or felt agency with". [34]
Quinlan has stated that they are unsure of how they feel regarding the issue of religion. [35]
In between tours, Quinlan works at a housepainting business owned by their aunt. [36]
Quinlan has expressed their appreciation for ambient music artists such as Brian Eno, saying "for some reason, I’ve just been drawn to music without lyrics — as a lyricist, I don’t know what that is [...] I like to read to it." [37]
There's Nothing Wrong with Love is the second full-length album released by American indie rock band Built to Spill. There's Nothing Wrong with Love was recorded in May and June 1994, and released September 13, 1994, on the Up Records label. It was produced by Phil Ek. The songs "Car" and "Distopian Dream Girl" were released as singles. Sub Pop reissued the album on vinyl in 2015. This is the only album to feature drummer Andy Capps and the first to feature bassist Brett Nelson.
Stereogum is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
Beach House is an American indie band formed in Baltimore in 2004 by current members Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally. Their work is characterized by a hypnotic dream pop style.
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Hop Along is an American indie rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formerly known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis.
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Get Disowned is Hop Along's second full-length album. It was released in March 2012 on Hot Green Records in the US and Big Scary Monsters in the UK/Europe. In 2016 it was reissued by Saddle Creek.
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Aoife McCarthy, known professionally as Aoife Nessa Frances, is a singer, songwriter, and musician from Dublin, Ireland.
I cannot stress enough how imperative it is to encourage children, even if they stink. I wasn't good, I've seen my drawings from when I was little and despite my mom's strong opinions, I think they look like a kid's drawing. I'm not going to get down on myself, but they certainly weren't those of a prodigy by any means. She told me, "You are an artist." She didn't try to turn me into a prodigy, she just encouraged me and I was very lucky to get that. Then, later on, this art teacher I had in high school, Ms. Wagner, was my mentor. She was the first person to tell me that it could be a career, that I could make a living as an artist if I pushed. Certainly, I've had some bad teachers, but the great ones changed my life and Ms. Wagner was one of them.
I'm basically a rhythm guitarist at the end of the day, but I play odd forms of chords, and only in the last three years started using a pick. I wanted something kind of thick but somehow still angular and capable of dimension. I'm still figuring it out, but as I get better it gets more fun.
While her artwork is separate from her music, the evening was still revealing of Quinlan's creative focus. She offered plenty of wisdom during the Q&A, after guests had a chance to view the pieces — abstract paintings which mostly reflected landscapes she'd seen while on the road with her band — but also tended to go off on fascinating, hilarious tangents. When asked about her own process, for instance, she quickly spiraled into a passionate thought about Donald Duck and Charlie Brown.
The Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter consumes a lot of popular culture while citing artists like Björk, Joanna Newsom and Bob Dylan as musical inspirations.
Media related to Frances Quinlan at Wikimedia Commons| Authority control databases: Artists |
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