Coming off their “Special” fall single, Santa Cruz, California, hardcore adventurists Scowl have revealed the plans for their first full-length release via new label home Dead Oceans Records. The band’s Are We All Angels lands April 4th, but they’re teasing it ahead of time with a track titled “Not Hell, Not Heaven.”
Alongside the pop-dusted power chording of the arrangement, vocalist Kat Moss’ tunefully sings of unleashing hell on an antagonist — at one point describing this in-song as “the sound of reckoning.”
“It’s about feeling victimized and being a victim, but not wanting to identify with being a victim,” Moss commented of the alt-rock-leaning song. “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.”
You can check out “Not Hell, Not Heaven” via the Sean Stout-directed video up above. Notably, the live footage was shot at famed Berkley, California, punk venue 924 Gilman.
As for the rest of Are We All Angels, a press release says it presents Scowl as a “venomous and antagonistic band funneling their aggression through a more expansive version of themselves.” The songs were apparently inspired by a wide variety of acts, including Negative Approach, Bad Brains, Rocket From the Crypt, Hole, Mudhoney, Julien Baker, Billie Eilish, Radiohead and more.
“The songwriting on the new record was the most collaborative to date in Scowl’s history,” bassist Bailey Lupo noted. “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.”
The recording sessions for Are We All Angels re-teamed Scowl with producer Will Yip (Turnstile, Title Fight, Mannequin Pussy, etc.), who also worked on 2023’s Psychic Dance Routine EP. The album was mixed by Rich Costey (Fiona Apple, My Chemical Romance, Vampire Weekend).
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