Lyrically, Quinlan's lyrics on Likewise are much more personal in nature as opposed to the narrative style of their work on Hop Along albums. They elaborated, "I’ve tried to be an omniscient narrator, but I suppose I am in that chapter of life where it doesn’t feel truthful for me at the moment".[4]
Background and production
Quinlan in 2012
Likewise is Frances Quinlan'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 Hop Along. They felt that the recording experience opened their instrumentation palette beyond the guitar and made them a more adventurous collaborator.[5] New instruments in their repertoire include strings, autoharp, and synthesizers.[6]
The album's tracks “A Secret” and “Went To LA” were originally written in 2013 and recorded for Bark Your Head Off, Dog. However, because the album was getting "too long", and because Quinlan felt the songs already felt "pretty complete" in their stripped-down forms, the tracks were cut from the album and used on Likewise.[7]
Saddle Creek announced the record in October 2019 for a January 31, 2020, release. The lead single, "Rare Thing", accompanied the announcement.[5] Based on a dream about their infant niece, the song explores the ability to love generously.[8]Likewise's 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.[9] Quinlan released "Your Reply", a celebratory song about nearly understanding someone, early in January 2020.[10] The album's last song, a cover of Built to Spill's "Carry the Zero", is a favorite of Quinlan's, often played in their solo sets and soundchecks.[11]
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.[1]
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.[13]
The album was one of Pitchfork's most anticipated in 2020.[23]
^Gonzalez, Sean (January 27, 2020). "Interview: Frances Quinlan Dances Through Stories & Emotional Connections On 'Likewise'". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved November 23, 2024. That's why there's a wide variety of sounds contorting through the mix of songs. "Detroit Lake" has strings delicately crying behind a keyboard, with Quinlan finding herself in a mess of questions. "Carry The Zero" has a multitude of percussion instruments contributing to the staccato stream-of-consciousness vocals.
^Spruch, Kirsten (January 31, 2020). "How Frances Quinlan's Songwriting 'Chaos' Created One of the Year's Best Indie Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2024. once we realized that BYHOD was going to be too long — with all 11 songs on it — I talked to the band, and everyone was cool with the idea of me taking two songs that were pretty much solo anyway. Tyler Long plays bass and piano on "A Secret," and Joe Reinhart plays slide guitar on "Went To LA," but otherwise, they stayed really close to the forms I brought in to the studio anyway.
^Gonzalez, Sean (January 27, 2020). "Interview: Frances Quinlan Dances Through Stories & Emotional Connections On 'Likewise'". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved November 23, 2024. "I've tried to be an omniscient narrator, but I suppose I am in that chapter of life where it doesn't feel truthful for me at the moment," Quinlan says. In this way, the listeners are engaging with her as she sings, and she is seeking their openness in embracing the conversation. The considerable amount of thoughtfulness that breathes in Likewise gives the album a human quality, as evidenced on "Rare Thing." The dreamlike textures of atmosphere allow Quinlan's voice to powerfully admit that it's okay to be happy.
^Spruch, Kirsten (January 31, 2020). "How Frances Quinlan's Songwriting 'Chaos' Created One of the Year's Best Indie Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2024. Two of the songs from Likewise, "A Secret" and "Went To LA," were initially recorded for Bark Your Head Off, Dog in 2017. However, I started writing those songs in 2013, so they were very old. I've written songs that the band collaborates on and arranges and edits together but then there's always one or two songs that really, in their first form, feel pretty complete. Songs like "Happy To See Me" and "Some Grace" are two examples of that. Aside from the addition of one more guitar or harp, the songs feel pretty complete in their initial forms. So once we realized that BYHOD was going to be too long — with all 11 songs on it — I talked to the band, and everyone was cool with the idea of me taking two songs that were pretty much solo anyway.
