Interview by Kris Peters
Music is a funny beast, especially when it comes to genre classification. It can make you listen to bands expecting a particular sound but getting something vastly different, or it could also put people off listening to bands based on personal taste.
Take Santa Cruz outfit Scowl, who are readily labelled as a hardcore band, but in reality offer so much more. Sure, Scowl have hardcore elements in abundance but their music also traverses the realms of - but is not limited to - rock, hard rock, alternative rock and punk as evidenced in their upcoming album Are We All Angels, which is out via Dead Oceans on April 4.
Are We All Angels finds the venomous and antagonistic band funnelling their aggression through a more expansive version of themselves. It is an album marked by alienation, grief, and the loss of control. Much of it grapples with their newfound place in the hardcore scene, a community that has both embraced the band and made them something of a lightning rod over the past few years.
The band — Malachi Greene (guitar), Bailey Lupo (bass), Cole Gilbert (drums), Mikey Bifolco (guitar), and Kat Moss (vocals) — formed in 2019 and broke out in 2021 with their debut album How Flowers Grow, and have been on a non-stop rise ever since. With 2023’s Psychic Dance Routine, Scowl pushed the boundaries of punk, blending aggressive hardcore with lush alternative melodies. But now Are We All Angels pushes those boundaries even more.
Vocalist Kat Moss joined HEAVY to tell us more.
"It's not a hardcore record from a band that is a hardcore band," Moss began when asked to describe the sound on Are We All Angels. "We're a band that has hardcore, or perhaps hardcore people, in the band. And that kind of creates this really beautiful thing where we're just kind of feeling it out as we go in the dark. And that is the reality of songwriting as a whole. It doesn't really matter if it's hardcore or indie music whatever. But it was very freeing."
We ask Moss about the title and if the fact there is no question mark at the end means it is more of a statement than a question.
"It's up to interpretation," she smiled cheekily. "It's something we talked about, and we were intending. It was a complicated conversation because to some degree it was like, let's figure this out. Let's make a decision on a question mark or period or whatever or put the punctuation in, make it something. And we kind of were like, no, we're not going to make it obvious. You get to figure it out for yourself. There isn't really any right or wrong answer there, because it's supposed to be introspective, you know?
In the full interview, Kat discussed the creative evolution of Are We All Angels, highlighting a shift from hardcore influences to a broader sound achieved through collaborative songwriting among all band members. HEAVY raised questions about the album's title and its representation in the singles, while Kat emphasized the importance of exploring new ideas to create a distinct and introspective musical experience. Additionally, Kat reflected on Scowl's debut album with new label Bad Ocean, expressing excitement about being part of an indie alternative label while preserving their raw sound.
She shared insights into the band's origins as a local hardcore group formed in 2019, underscoring the joy of performing in various venues and her commitment to musical growth, avoiding repetition of past works and more.
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