Santa Cruz hardcore band Scowl announced their new album, Are We All Angels, last month and today they return with their latest offering, “B.A.B.E” Equal parts relentless hardcore and infectious hooks, the track leans into the band’s distinctive blend of raw aggression and undeniable catchiness.
Accompanying the release is a video of BTS footage from their life on the road—a fitting visual, given Scowl’s relentless touring schedule that has made stages across the world feel like home. “B.A.B.E” follows “Not Heaven, Not Hell,” a track that defiantly rejects the narratives imposed on them by outsiders, and “Special,” a song that channels big, anthemic energy without sacrificing the band’s unfiltered intensity. With each release, Are We All Angels continues to shape up as a defining statement for one of hardcore’s most vital and dynamic bands.
On the track, the band said:
“Burned At Both Ends is another explosion of emotions stemming from both overwhelm and excitement. We felt that the song’s punchy nature and quick switches from melody to scrapping angst resembles a mature version of “Shot Down” from our “Psychic Dance Routine” EP. Lyrically B.A.B.E dives into our vitriol for the extreme circumstances we as a band subject ourselves too in order to live our dreams.”
Produced by Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight, Mannequin Pussy), 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).
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.
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 favour 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.”
