Divine Intervention With KAT MOSS From SCOWL

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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