Q’ulle

Is this what they mean by glam?

Q’ulle doesn’t get as much attention from other people who follow the indies, and I get it; this is a slick, pro group. But that doesn’t meant that they don’t rock.

Q’ulle actually began when a dance group called, appropriately, Danceroid, broke up by one means or another in June 2014; five members decided that it was time to sing, too.

Within a few months, they had an intro single and were signed by a major label, and it’s pretty much been off to the races ever since — three more singles and a full album, with another single pending. They’re having an Asia tour for early 2016. Get hype!

So another rock idol group, Maniac? Yes. Because while many idol groups will do rock songs here and there, and some groups use “rock music” writ large as kind of a base, they don’t really embrace it. Q’ulle does. And no, they aren’t as hard as, say, Himekyun Fruit Can, and I doubt that they’ll ever try to break themselves out of the idol mold, but their music holds up, is good, and they deserve to be here.

Also (and this is purely personal), their no-doubt embrace of fashion instead of typical idol outfits is great. Dress for the job you want, kids, not the job you have; Q’ulle dresses like they want to be on worldwide TV.

What they sound like

Like J-rock done by idols, except that the band desperately wants to drop their tuning a step and maybe shred a little. It yields an uncertain admixture of pop, pop rock and popcore, a pop group that rocks. They actually aren’t that far off from a Europop sound a lot of the time, honestly, but the J is absolutely evident.

You’ll like them if

Do you like Perfume and wish they’d try to get a little harder sometimes? Do you like PassCode and wish they’d tone it down a little? Hell, did you like Bon Jovi around the time of Slippery When Wet? Or maybe you just like good songs with a lot of melody and some guitar riffs. You’ll like Q’ulle.

Entries on the Ultimate Homicidol Playlist:

Members

Ikura
Ikura is a member of Japanese rock idol group Q'ulle
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Yuzuki
Yuzuki is a member of Japanese rock idol group Q'ulle
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Maamu
Maam is a member of Japanese rock idol group Q'ulle
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Manako
Manako is a member of Japanese rock idol group Q'ulle
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Yakko
Yakko is a member of Japanese rock idol group Q'ulle
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Discography

“mic check one two” (single)
“Monster” (single)
“Heartbeat” (single)
Q’&A — Q’ulle & Answer (album)
“Unreal/Hope” (single)