Listen To Hop Along’s Deceptively Dark “Powerful Man”

Philly pop-punk heroes Hop Along are readying their second album, Painted Shut, for release on May 5 via their new label home, Saddle Creek. The new one was recorded and mixed by John Agnello, whose work you might recognize from Kurt Vile's albums; as such, the tones here are bright and pristine—but the subject matter is far from it. "Once I saw a boy getting beaten up by his father, in daylight in front of a school," the band's Frances Quinlan told FADER in an email. "My friend was with me, the father saw us both and kept right on hitting him, totally unaffected by our presence. I was 18 and immediately afraid of this man; I didn't confront him. I can't imagine what it must be like for a little boy, watching someone walk away as his father punches him about the head. I witnessed a frightening part of myself that day: in a time of crisis I was not there for a child, I froze up. That little boy is probably close to 20 now, maybe a little younger."

Lead image: Shervin Lainez