Bark Your Head Off, Dog

Bark Your Head Off, Dog

Written over the course of 2016 and 2017 and recorded in the summer of the latter year by Frances Quinlan (songwriter/vocalist/rhythm guitar), Tyler Long (bass), Joe Reinhart (guitar), and Mark Quinlan (drums), Bark Your Head Off, Dog addresses disappointment, particularly in man's misuse of power, and relates accounts from the periphery -- one's attempts to retreat from the lengthening shadows of tyrants, both historical and everyday. It considers what itâ€™s like to cast off longheld and misguided perceptions, yet without the assurance of knowing what new ones will replace them. Much like on Hop Alongâ€™s first and second records, Get Disowned and Painted Shut, Quinlan seeks in real time to work through these issues. Throughout the album, one gets the sense that Quinlan is wandering in the thicket of a forestâ€”a state of being that will feel familiar to longtime listenersâ€”and on this outing, she hasnâ€™t left a trail of breadcrumbs behind her. The albumâ€™s artwork, which Quinlan painted herself, invites the listener into that forest, as well. â€œThere is a terror in getting lost,â€ she says, â€œthe woods are at the same time beautiful and horrifying.â€ This curious wandering gives the album, both lyrically and musically, a heightened dimensionality. Bark Your Head Off, Dog is, without question, Hop Alongâ€™s most dynamic and textured record yet. Self-produced and recorded at The Headroom in Philadelphia by Reinhart and Kyle Pulley, Bark Your Head Off, Dog features the familiar sounds that have always made the band allergic to genre: grunge, folk, punk, and power pop all appear, with inspiration from ELO to Elvis Costello to â€˜70s girl group vocal arrangements. This time around, theyâ€™ve added strings, more intricate rhythms, lush harmonies (featuring Thin Lipsâ€™ Chrissy Tashjian), along with a momentary visit with a vocoder. In more than one place, Mark Quinlan drums like heâ€™s at a disco with Built to Spill. Most significantly, Bark Your Head Off, Dog shows the band at its strongest and most cohesive. Hop Along (which originally began as Quinlanâ€™s solo project under the moniker Hop Along, Queen Ansleis) has never sounded so deliberate, so balanced. â€œSo strange to be shaped by such strange menâ€ is a line that repeats on more than one song on the album. â€œIâ€™ve been thinking about that a lot. That I just deferred to men throughout my life,â€ Quinlan says. â€œBut by thinking youâ€™re powerless, youâ€™re really robbing yourself. Iâ€™m at a point in my life where Iâ€™m saying instead, â€˜Well, what can I do?â€™â€
Country USA
Brand SADDLE CREEK
Manufacturer Saddle Creek
Binding Vinyl
ItemPartNumber LP-LBJ-263
Model LP-LBJ-263
ReleaseDate 2018-04-06
UnitCount 1
UPCs 648401026313
EANs 0648401026313

Country	USA
Brand	SADDLE CREEK
Manufacturer	Saddle Creek
Binding	Vinyl
ItemPartNumber	LP-LBJ-263
Model	LP-LBJ-263
ReleaseDate	2018-04-06
UnitCount	1
UPCs	648401026313
EANs	0648401026313

Bark Your Head Off, Dog

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