SADDLE CREEK

For Big Thief, fragility and power come inextricably intertwined. Singer and guitarist Adrianne Lenker may let her songs sit and seethe for long stretches, but those slow builds only maximize the catharsis of the big, loud, high-volume bursts of force that follow.

Onstage at Stubb’s BBQ in Austin, Texas — recorded live Wednesday as part of NPR Music’s SXSW showcase — Lenker brought a mix of new material and songs from last year’s terrific Masterpiece. 

by Michael Comite

I download Hop Along’s new full-length Painted Shut on coffee shop wifi in Buffalo, NY. Last night my band played the first show of a DIY tour booked entirely by my drummer Matt; our set wasn’t a complete bust, but I’m still digesting the image of a crowd of mostly supporting acts and venue staff. Feels not-so-great, but I don’t really have the right to be disappointed at this point.

The album gets its first spin on our way out of town, heading back to the promoter’s house where we’re going to spend the night. He has some beds set up in his basement for bands like us, and he and his wife are going to cook us dinner because they’re saints.

I pull up to a red light in our white Chrysler Town and Country just as we’re twenty-nine seconds into “The Knock”. The band fizzles out and frontlady Frances Quinlan drones, “At the door came the knock…” over guitar guitar feedback, the musical equivalent of hanging in mid-air after driving off a cliff. The first time it happens, I’m intrigued. When it happens again after the next verse, I’m awestruck.

Hop Along is now my Rock God.

It might be some combination of hearing a lead-off track like that, something so boldly wrong that it’s actually right. In fact, the most right thing I’ve heard all year.

It could also be the fact that, sitting in a van and already feeling pessimistic about the two weeks ahead of me, I’m listening to contemporary proof that there’s hope at the end of the DIY tunnel.

HOP ALONG • MONDAY, MAY 11 • 5:00PM ET / 2:00PM PT

Hop Along released their latest album, Painted Shut, last week. They just ended a nation wide tour opening for The War on Drugs. What did they do next? Almost immediately started their own nation wide tour. What we’re trying to say is that Hop Along might be one of the busiest bands around right now, and they still wanted to take the time to sit down with you guys and answer your questions. They like you a lot.