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Bark Your Head Off, Dog
Studio album by Hop Along
Released	April 6, 2018
Recorded	2017
Studio	The Headroom (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre	Indie rock
Length	40:09
Label	Saddle Creek
Producer	Hop Along, Joe Reinhart
Hop Along chronology
Painted Shut (2015) Bark Your Head Off, Dog (2018)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.8/10
Metacritic	81/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	B−
DIY
Drowned in Sound	9/10
Exclaim!	9/10
Pitchfork	8.0/10
The Skinny
Under the Radar	7/10

Bark Your Head Off, Dog is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Hop Along. It was self-produced, written over the course of 2016 and 2017, recorded at The Headroom in Philadelphia during 2017, and released on April 6, 2018.

The album's cover artwork is an abstract landscape portrait painted by frontperson Frances Quinlan.

Background and recording

The album was recorded at the Headroom, guitarist Joe Reinhart's home recording studio in Philadelphia.

Composition

Musical style

The sound on Bark Your Head Off, Dog has been described as "warmer", "more spacious" and more "vibrantly diverse" than its predecessor. Additionally, the album uses more "danceable" rhythms, and its opening track "How Simple" has been called "one of the band's poppiest moments". The album continues the band's usual blend of grunge, punk rock and power pop, and is also said to contain elements of progressive rock, folk rock, and lofi music. The album also makes use of unorthodox instruments such as harps, pizzicato, mandolins, fiddles, electric piano and vocoders.

Guitarist Joe Reinhart utilized "math emo" guitar techniques such as tapping, which drew comparisons to Algernon Cadwallader, his previous band. NPR wrote that the guitarist employed "twinkly, expressive guitar riffs that defined his defunct emo band Algernon Cadwallader and made that music feel unbridled and joyous." Some of the album's guitar rhythms have drawn comparisons to Paramore.

Lyrics

The lyrics on the album have been described as feeling "impressionistic".

Critical reception

Bark Your Head Off, Dog was met with "universal acclaim" by critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the release received an average score of 81 based on 14 reviews.

Music aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 79 out of 100 score based on a critical consensus of 20 reviews, and, after aggregating a number of 2018's year-end best-albums lists, placed the album at #43 in the resultant ranking of the best 100 albums of the year.

Track listing

Charts

Personnel

• Frances Quinlan - vocals, guitar
• Mark Quinlan - drums
• Tyler Long - bass
• Joe Reinhart - guitar

References

1. "Bark Your Head Off, Dog by Hop Along reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
2. ^ "Bark Your Head Off, Dog by Hop Along Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
3. Donelson, Marcy. "Bark Your Head Off, Dog – Hop Along". AllMusic. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
4. McLevy, Alex (April 6, 2018). "Hop Along, Bark Your Head Off, Dog". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
5. Richards, Will (April 6, 2018). "Hop Along – Bark Your Head Off, Dog". DIY. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
6. Slaughter, Matthew (April 16, 2018). "Album Review: Hop Along – Bark Your Head Off, Dog". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
7. Firth, Cole (April 3, 2018). "Hop Along: Bark Your Head Off, Dog". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
8. Greene, Jayson (April 6, 2018). "Hop Along: Bark Your Head Off, Dog". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
9. Butchard, Stephen (April 3, 2018). "Hop Along – Bark Your Head Off, Dog". The Skinny. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
10. Turner-Heffer, Adam (April 3, 2018). "Hop Along: Bark Your Head Off, Dog (Saddle Creek) Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
11. "Bark Your Head Off, Dog". Saddle Creek Records. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
12. Freedman, Max (February 3, 2020). "Frances Quinlan on Her Favorite Paintings (and Two of Her Own)". Interview. Retrieved November 23, 2024. Quinlan hasn't backed away from her first love, even as her band has found itself becoming a fan favorite and critical darling. The artwork for Hop Along's most recent album, 2018's Bark Your Head Off, Dog, is an abstract landscape portrait that would make Quinlan's painterly heroes proud.
13. https://www.spin.com/2018/04/hop-along-bark-your-head-off-dog-review/
14. Greene, Jayson. "Hop Along: Bark Your Head Off, Dog". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
15. Johnson, Eugenie. "My bark is your bite: Hop Along". DIY. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
16. https://www.npr.org/2018/01/23/579905625/songs-we-love-hop-along-how-simple
17. https://www.spin.com/2018/04/hop-along-bark-your-head-off-dog-review/
18. "Interview: Hop Along's Frances Quinlan on Expanding Their DIY Rock Vision". Reverb. June 12, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2024. Though one may assume the resulting album would be a return-to-basics affair, the setup allowed Hop Along to use their long-standing DIY impulses to craft a record with an expanded sonic palette that includes strings, danceable rhythms, and orchestral-pop arrangements—all while maintaining the power and frankness of their earlier work.
19. Greene, Jayson. "Hop Along: Bark Your Head Off, Dog". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
20. https://www.spin.com/2018/04/hop-along-bark-your-head-off-dog-review/
21. "My bark is your bite: Hop Along". DIY. Retrieved November 23, 2024. 'Bark Your Head Off, Dog' sees Hop Along at their most vibrantly diverse. It still features the grunge and punk-inflected tones that coloured its predecessors, with rollicking guitar lines and soaring power-pop hooks, but there's also added intricacies, from sweeping and lush orchestral arrangements to blissful harmonies.
22. Greene, Jayson. "Hop Along: Bark Your Head Off, Dog". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-10-06.
23. https://www.spin.com/2018/04/hop-along-bark-your-head-off-dog-review/
24. https://www.npr.org/2018/04/02/597609359/first-listen-hop-along-bark-your-head-off-dog
25. "Bark Your Head Off, Dog". Pitchfork.
26. Gee, Chris. "Hop Along / Bat Fangs". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
27. "Hop Along's Emotionally Resonant 'Bark Your Head Off, Dog' Is A Triumph". NPR. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
28. "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
29. "2018 Music Year End List Aggregate". albumoftheyear.org. January 10, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
30. "Heatseekers Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
31. "Independent Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2020.

Further reading

• https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/we-will-both-find-out-just-not-together-a-conversation-with-hop-along

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