If Philadelphia is the capital of indie rock, then Hop Along sits at the table with its top leaders. Frontwoman Frances Quinlan is one of the genre’s most compelling vocalists, thanks to her willingness to shred her vocal cords for the sake of emotional impact. Her songwriting is equally captivating: Hop Along’s songs have pensive, sometimes gruesomely detailed lyrics folded into deceptively fizzy pop-leaning melodies. Theirs are a far cry from simple pop songs, though: “How Simple,” the lead single from their upcoming third album, Bark Your Head Off, Dog, appears uncomplicated, but it raises more questions than it answers.

On first listen, “How Simple” might seem like a straight-ahead breakup song; Quinlan’s refrain of “Don’t worry, we will both find out, just not together” outlines a recent rift, while girl group-style backing vocals sound like her crew rallying around her for support. But, at other moments, that familiar approach disappears behind a slew of other worries. Quinlan wonders aloud about her mortality and collapses her fleeting self-love and fear of the future into biting lines (“Think I should stop checking myself out in the windows of cars/When I could see my future in pictures of relatives”). Still, as tangled as her concerns get, the song is full of effortless rewards: tingly guitar riffs, Quinlan’s gripping vocals, an earworm of a chorus, and an unexpectedly dreamy violin outro. “How Simple” may leave you feeling a touch of whiplash, but the ride is undeniably fun.