Qlowski: Quale Futuro? – “searing new found urgency”

Qlowski are the product of hard work. After all, any band who moves countries in pursuit of their dreams, no matter how good or band, should receive the relevant kudos. Even more so in the current economic climate, particularly in Britain where the arts are concerned.

Band leaders, Mickey Tellarini (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Cecilia Corapi (vocals, keyboards) decamped from Bologna, Italy to London and after being joined by Danny Smartt (bass, clarinet) and Christian Billard (drums), the four-piece entered a studio in Tottenham Hale just before the pandemic hit last March.

Alongside producer, Lindsay A. Corstorphine (Sauna Youth, Cold Pumas et al), the band carved out the sounds that would become their debut album ,Quale Futuro?

Qlowski have trotted to the other side of the globe in search of their influences, making Quale Futuro? quite a far-reaching statement. Inspired by the new wave post-punk which has seeped into Australian soil over the past ten years, not before a quick trip across the ditch to New Zealand to pay homage to The Clean and The Bats, Qlowski aren’t afraid to wear their heart on their sleeve.  

Stella Research Committee: A Proposed Method for Determining Sanding Fitness – “a menacing blast”

The journey starts with the brilliantly titled, Ikea Youth Pt. 2. A sci-fi post-punk stomp, stretching the ideals Total Control wowed audiences with midway through the last decade (incidentally, Total Control‘s Mikey Young mastered Quale Futuro?).

The ideas don’t stray too far on Folk Song, either, with a ghoulish rhythm section that reaches those decayed corners which Joy Division once brought to life.

The spiky reverie of A Women sees Corapi take centre stage and from here, her subtle snarl opens up Quale Futuro? to new dimension. Together with Tellarini, the pair combine for the motorik blitzkrieg of Lentil Soup and To Be True. Songs containing the kind of driving bass lines that rumble the ribcage.

Jerome: Moods – “the greatest electronic record you’ve never heard”

All Good is, of course, just that. Ditto the fantastically titled Larry’s Hair Everywhere. Here, we are greeted with pair of combative ear-splitting goth-punk rackets, akin to being the recipient of a size nine to the face. Repeatedly.

Then there’s The Wanderer. Head and shoulders the finest track on Quale Futuro? A song brimming with angular hooks and bowel-juddering rhythms, here Qlowski find a searing new found urgency that leaves everything else for dead.

While sonically it may not be reinventing the wheel as such, if we’re all honest with ourselves for a minute here, what the fuck is? With Quale Futuro?, Qlowski  make sure that the tunes hold up and they do it in a big way. That’s what’s it’s all about, right?

Quale Futuro? is out now via Maple Death Records/Feel It Records. Purchase from Bandcamp.