Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time on KEXP, is "Folk Song" by Qlowski, from the 2021 album Quale Futuro? on Maple Death Records
London-by-way-of-Italy art-punk outfit Qlowski is led by Michele Tellarini and Cecilia Corapi. Friends since the age of 16, the duo have dabbled with a number of sounds and influences over the past decade, which is apparent on their debut full-length Quale Futuro? which eccentrically fuses new wave and post-punk with just a flourish of twee for a sound that’s both nostalgic and refreshing.
Our Song of the Day, “Folk Song,” is deceptive in its titling because, for all the genres the band meshes together, folk is not one of them. Abrasive rhythms coincide with motorik guitar strums while Tellarini mumble-roars nearly imperceptible lyrics, sounding like a fusion of Robert Smith, Joe Talbot, and Hamish Kilgour.
The song comes with a video directed by Eli Hart. The band had this to say about it:
"The original idea was to recreate a late 70s/early 80s Top of the Pops scenario - but given the nature of the song we opted for a more dreamy/nightmarish vibe. The presenter is struggling pronouncing our name and no one in the crowd is even slightly touched by our performance and music. Everyone is actually frozen in time, as if our music wasn’t even reaching their reality. For once we wanted to be ironic and funny, but it turned out quite Lynchian I'm afraid!"
Watch the video for “Folk Song” below.
