{"id":98594,"date":"2025-04-03T21:04:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T20:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=98594"},"modified":"2025-04-03T21:14:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T20:14:48","slug":"review-scowl-are-we-all-angels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-scowl-are-we-all-angels\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Scowl &#8211; Are We All Angels"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-98595 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/cover-Scowl-Are-We-All-Angels-300x300.webp\" alt=\"Scowl - Are We All Angels artwork\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/cover-Scowl-Are-We-All-Angels-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/cover-Scowl-Are-We-All-Angels-800x800.webp 800w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/cover-Scowl-Are-We-All-Angels-100x100.webp 100w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/cover-Scowl-Are-We-All-Angels-768x768.webp 768w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/cover-Scowl-Are-We-All-Angels.webp 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>In hardcore circles,\u00a0<strong>Scowl<\/strong> have been touted for big things ever since emerging out of the Bay Area. Their 2021 debut full-length,\u00a0<em>&#8216;How Flowers Grow<\/em><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">, &#8216;<\/span> was a rampant 10-track onslaught of Californian hardcore in 15 rage-filled minutes. However, there were hints of a band willing to incorporate melodies. Their 2023<em> &#8216;Psychic Dance Routine&#8217;<\/em> EP saw them explore this further, leaning into alt-rock traits yet retaining their hardcore bite. Being a band with a rising profile comes with expectations, and as they release their second album, <em>&#8216;Are We All Angels,&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>they&#8217;re at an all-time high. However, the Santa Cruz quintet have knocked it out of the park.<\/p>\n<p>For starters, those previous steps into melodic territory pay off in an abundance. Vocalist Kat Moss delivers hooks that live rent-free in your head for days. Opening track, <em>&#8216;Special&#8217;<\/em>s, has a scratchy start that breaks into a radiant chorus. <em>&#8216;Fantasy&#8217;<\/em> floats against Bailey Lupo&#8217;s grungy bass and guitarist Malachi Greene and Michael Bifolco&#8217;s power chords. While there&#8217;s a playfulness to Moss&#8217; delivery on <em>&#8216;Let You Down,&#8217;<\/em> despite her self-deprecating words. Later on, <em>&#8216;Suffer The Fool (How High Are You?)&#8217;<\/em> twists around her (slight) mononous delivery. However, it&#8217;s complemented by a solid alt-rock sound, yet\u00a0<strong>Scowl<\/strong>&#8216;s growing musical scope will surely be a gripe for longtime admirers.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Scowl - Special (Official Video)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CGzyxGSqaE4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Even though their hardcore roots are scattered throughout (see\u00a0<em>&#8216;Not Hell, Not Heaven&#8217;<\/em>), there&#8217;s considerable evidence that\u00a0<strong>Scowl<\/strong>&#8216;s sound benefits from a blend of alt-rock, grunge, pop-punk and, of course, hardcore. Take <em>&#8216;B.A.B.E.&#8217;\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>for example. Its elastic melody and momentary\u00a0<em>&#8220;oohs&#8221;<\/em> are complemented by razor-sharp guitars and Kat&#8217;s brief barbed screams.\u00a0<em>&#8216;Tonight (I\u2019m Afraid)&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>highlights their stylistic freedom. Its rigid intro builds with intensity before moulding itself into euphoric alt-rock. It then speeds off as Cole Gilbert&#8217;s kinetic drumming takes over, with Moss&#8217;s duel vocals of cleans and screams proving to be a disorientating delight.<\/p>\n<p>At the forefront of\u00a0<strong>Scowl<\/strong> is vocalist and primary lyricist Kat Moss. Her introspective words of alienation, grief, and dealing with the burden of expectation are threaded through <em>&#8216;Are We All Angels&#8217;<\/em>.\u00a0<em>&#8216;Special&#8217;<\/em> instantly sets the tone through its lines of self-worth and detachment (<em>&#8220;Bring me back to my body&#8221;<\/em>).\u00a0<em>&#8216;B.A.B.E.&#8217;<\/em> allows Moss to express her frustration, exhausted by expectation, yet finds\u00a0<em>&#8220;comfort in the suffering&#8221;<\/em>. The album&#8217;s title track (and closer) explodes with a hardcore rumble, yet it&#8217;s paired with a philosophical approach that questions, <em>&#8220;Is this all there is?\u201d<\/em> It whirls away in a brief sea of feedback before Moss&#8217; acapella voice ominously accepts her position in her existential crisis.<\/p>\n<p>As a unit, Moss, Lupo, Greene, Bifolco, and Gilbert subtly maintain a grittiness amongst a thriving sea of textured sounds and addictive melodies, overseen by the ever-reliable Will Yip. It results in <em>&#8216;Are We All Angels&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>being a contender for the album of the year. Sure, it doesn&#8217;t gnar with a hardcore rawness, but it succeeds in allowing\u00a0<strong>Scowl<\/strong> to grow almost organically &#8211; solidifying their place as hardcore&#8217;s next breakout band.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;Are We All Angels&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>by\u00a0<strong>Scowl<\/strong> is released on April 4th, 2025,\u00a0<span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">on<strong> Dead<\/strong><\/span><strong>\u00a0Oceans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Find\u00a0<strong>Scowl<\/strong> on: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Scowl40831\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Scowl40831\">X (Formerly Twitter)<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/scowl40831\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@scowlhardcore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TikTok<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/artist\/6hW33nVHPElaXuG2hQ0QOp?si=clK41GkcRDaMAiRHr5XPjQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/music.apple.com\/gb\/artist\/scowl\/1463439930\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple Music<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/scowl40831\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Linktr.ee<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scowl40831.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The Santa Cruz quintet&#8217;s venture into melodic territory pays off in abundance\u2026  addictive and vulnerably powerful.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98595,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[17728],"class_list":["post-98594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-scowl"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review: Scowl - Are We All Angels - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&quot;The Santa Cruz quintet&#039;s venture into melodic territory pays off in an abundance.&quot; 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