Scowl on new album Are We All Angels and redefining hardcore

thefader.com:

Scowl are gathered backstage at The Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, the latest in a dizzying array of shows that have propelled the band from performances at unlikely venues like a Sonic Drive-In to 2000-cap rooms.

Kat Moss, the frontwoman for the Bay Area hardcore band, stands out from her bandmates with her shock of neon green hair. She is joined by the rest of the band, guitarists Malachi Greene and Mikey Bifolco, bassist Bailey Lupo, and drummer Cole Gilbert, who squeeze in tightly on the green room couch.

They are anticipating another high-energy show but are quick to explain how life on the road nearly broke them physically and mentally. “Everyone in the band had their own personal nightmares that were going on simultaneously as we were touring,” Moss says of the two years they spent in 2022 and 2023 playing live without any real break. “I felt like I had nothing left to give.” Read Next: The 20 best rock songs right now The strain of being on the road for long stretches of time was heightened by breakups and deaths back home.

And even though the band became more and more successful — Post Malone and Hayley Williams of Paramore are fans — they were also met with a wave of cruel and sexist backlash from those in the hardcore community who felt they were breaking the rules.