''Likewise'' is the debut studio album by

Frances Quinlan 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. They have painted all the band's album art. Career Early life Quinlan ...

Hop Along Hop Along is an American indie rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formerly known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis. History Hop Along began as an acoustic freak folk solo project known as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis in 2004, during Frances Quinl ...

. It was released on January 31, 2020, by Saddle Creek Records.

Production

Hop Along - Frances Quinlan in Gainesville FL 2012

''Likewise'' is

's first solo album under their own name. They had earlier released a solo album, ''Freshman Year'', as Hop Along, Queen Ansleis, in 2005. Quinlan recorded ''Likewise'' with Joe Reinhart, a bandmate from

. They felt that the recording experience opened their instrumentation palette beyond the guitar and made them a more adventurous collaborator. New instruments in their repertoire include

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

autoharp An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...

, and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

Saddle Creek Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...

announced the record in October 2019 for a January 31, 2020, release. The lead single, "Rare Thing", accompanied the announcement. Based on a dream about their infant niece, the song explores the ability to love generously. ''Likewise'' second single, "Now That I'm Back", followed the next month. The song addresses the long road of learning to compromise in a romantic relationship. Quinlan released "Your Reply", a celebratory song about nearly understanding someone, early in January 2020. The album's last song, a cover of Built to Spill's "

Carry the Zero "Carry the Zero" is a song recorded by the American rock band Built to Spill for their fourth studio album, '' Keep It Like a Secret'' (1999). It was released as the second single from ''Keep It Like a Secret'' in 1999 through Warner Bros. Recor ...

", is a favorite of Quinlan's, often played in their solo sets and

soundcheck A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...

s. Quinlan created the album's cover art. A limited edition release of the album on colored vinyl included autographed artwork. A promotional tour for the album is set to run from January to March 2020.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 83, based on 12 reviews. The album was one of '' Pitchfork'' most anticipated in 2020.

Accolades

Track listing

References

External links