Santa Cruz hardcore band Scowl have announced a new album, Are We All Angels, for April 4th via Dead Oceans, their first with the label, whose roster includes Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, etc. Produced by Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight, Mannequin Pussy, etc.), who worked on their most recent project, the Psychic Dance Routine EP, Are We All Angels finds the venomous and antagonistic band funneling their aggression through a more expansive version of themselves. The album was mixed by Rich Costey (Fiona Apple, My Chemical Romance, Vampire Weekend, etc..). 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 first single, “Not Hell, Not Heaven,” outright rejects the narratives cast onto them by outsiders. “It’s about feeling victimized and being a victim, but not wanting to identify with being a victim,” explains vocalist / front woman Kat Moss. “It’s trying to find grace in the fact that I have my power. I live in my reality. You have to deal with whatever you're dealing with, and it ain’t working for me. The song arrives with a Sean Stout-directed video, filmed at 924 Gilman in Berkeley—the venue where Moss, guitarist Malachi Greene and drummer Cole Gilbert first met, planting the seed for what would become Scowl a year later. The album will include the previously released “Special,” a song that boasts big, anthemic energy while retaining Scowl’s raw intensity. ”Special” arrived with a video you can see here.
At every turn on Are We All Angels, the band explores ambitious new directions and bends genre norms. Moss makes the most immediately noticeable evolution, dropping some of the gnarly bite of the band’s previous work in favor of a more textured and sometimes delicate approach. She flexes harmonies and melodic sensibilities that might surprise even the most dedicated Scowl fans. Moss cites a wide array of influences outside the realm of hard rock—everything from Billie Eilish to Radiohead, Car Seat Headrest to Julien Baker. “The majority of us were really not proficient musicians when this band started,” she admits. “It was very Germs-esque in that way, like baby’s first hardcore band, which is awesome. But now, we still might not know what we’re doing, but we have a better idea of what we want to do.” Instrumentally the band cites influence from Negative Approach, Bad Brains, Hole, Mudhoney Garbage, Ramones, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Rocket From The Crypt among others. Bassist Bailey Lupo notes “The song writing on the new record was the most collaborative to date in Scowl’s history. Everyone brought so many ideas to the table and we were able to dissect it all and take our time. We all have such eclectic tastes, influences and personalities and you can really hear that in every corner on this album.” Even through this more eclectic approach, Scowl loses none of their edge and still manages to convey the anger and frustration that lies underneath. They are deeply committed to carrying the ethos of punk and its sense of community. “Hardcore and punk have sculpted how we operate, what we want to do as a band, and how we participate,” says Greene. “At our core, we are a punk and a hardcore band, regardless of how the song shifts and changes.”
Are We All Angels Tracklist Special B.A.B.E Fantasy Not Hell, Not Heaven Tonight (I’m Afraid) Fleshed Out Let You Down Cellophane Suffer The Fool (How High Are You?) Haunted Are We All Angels
ABOUT SCOWL Scowl has quickly established themselves as one of the most dynamic and hard-working acts in rock, touring extensively in the U.S. and internationally with the likes of Limp Bizkit, Destroy Boys, The Bronx, Militarie Gun, Show Me The Body, Zulu, Touche Amore, A Day To Remember, Speed, Sunami and many more, along with festival appearances at Coachella, Reading & Leeds, No Values, Outbreak, Primavera, and Sick New World to name a few. 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 they’ve been on a non-stop rise ever since garning cover stories from Alternative Press and Revolver and support from Pitchfork, FADER, Stereogum, Spin Magazine and much more . With 2023’s Psychic Dance Routine, Scowl pushed the boundaries of punk, blending aggressive hardcore with lush alternative melodies. |
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