Hop Along - Powerful Man

With their second album ‘Painted Shut’ set for release in just over a month, Philadelphia pop-punk gems Hop Along are ramping up the excitement with the release of the single ‘Powerful Man’. Based on this evidence, ‘Painted Shut’ is set to be a stormer. What’s instantly distinctive about Hop Along is the undeniably unique voice of singer Frances Quinlan, whose ability to switch from breathy and melodic, to rasping and strained, in the blink of an eye gives ‘Powerful Man’ the sort of depth and texture that few vocalists can match.

While Quinlan’s voice can come across as a little jarring at first, give it a chance and it wont be long until you fall in love. ‘Powerful Man’ is also full of hooks, from the choppy, bright guitar riff in the verse, to Quinlan’s refrain of “I just thought, he looked like a powerful man,” which has that rare ability to lodge itself in your head for days and refuses to let go.

With a tour about to start in the US with The War On Drugs before their own headline tour in support of ‘Painted Shut’, get ready to hear a lot more of that voice and a lot more from Hop Along.