Melodic hardcore group Scowl have had their share of resistance from the hardcore community over the years. Back in 2023, the band struck back, directly fending off allegations of being an “industry plant”. However, while scoring promotional campaigns with fast food chain Taco Bell and performing at ‘Coachella‘ may have introduced the group to wider audiences, those mainstream associations also served as further ammunition for their detractors.
In the year’s since, the group ‘s hardcore and punk ideals have shone through in remaining politically and socially active. The band backed out of the 2024 ‘SXSW‘ events due to the sponsorship involvement of the U.S. Army and a private military contractor. The band took that stance, citing the two entities ties to Israel and the war in Gaza. Following that, they dropped off the 2024 ‘Welcome To Rockville” festival in light of the U.S. Army being a sponsor.
Later citing solidarity with the plight of Palestinian peoples, the band also withdrew from last year’s annual ‘Download‘ festival, taking issue with Barclays bank being involved as a sponsor. The band stated at the time that Barclays‘ financial ties to Israel and the war in Gaza prompted them to instead partake in a benefit show for Palestinian victims of the war.
In a newly published interview with Kerrang!, the band’s vocalist Kat Moss admits that she still struggles with balancing the less desirable aspects of “the capitalism of it all” when it comes to being in a band and a part of the music industry. She stated of that:
“Art for me is really important and I want that to take precedence, but to a degree, obviously, within reason. But I also need to be alive and functioning. It can be exhausting to exist in that space at times, and reckoning with it feels impossible.”
Two tracks featured on the group’s forthcoming album “Are Are All Angels” (“Cellophane” and the title track) lyrically tackle the downsides of consumerism and capitalism, with Moss sharing:
“I never wanted to be a content creator. I didn’t want that job, but that is a part of this job, unfortunately, with the state of how the music industry works. And that’s hard. But I’m still doing something I want to do so much. This is what my dreams are made of, but my dreams are made of also having to post on TikTok…”
Opening up further on the inherent consumerism involved with the music industry, she added:
“We’re subjected to it and victimized by it by design. I was struggling so much with being perceived and consumed and being this item for entertainment at times. I don’t like being possessed. I don’t like being owned.”
Moss also lamented the intersection of systems of oppression (white supremacy and patriarchy were mentioned) that capitalism can foster. She said of that:
“It sucks to be a victim of these systems of abuse. It sucks to be a woman in America. I can only imagine how scary and painful it is to be a black woman in America, or a trans woman. Those things are so pertinent and fucking intense and terrifying and real. To a degree, I have to accept that I don’t have control over the narrative that is being fed about me, or these systems. I kind of have to fly through it a little bit.”
She further went on to state of the systems of abuse she feels people are facing in modern times:
“We need to be diligent about questioning these things and not being fucking sleeper cells about it. But on a greater scale, we need to look around us and question these systems and recognise how we’re being abused and how our narrative is being mutilated, and succumb a little bit to the grief and the feeling of it all. Let that exist and honour that, but also go fucking fight.”
Despite the pushback Scowl have received from a contingent of the hardcore community, Moss still feels her band adhere to the ethos of the genre, even if their sonic approach has become a bit more experimental in recent years. She said of that:
“It’s so important for me, personally and for this band, to practise this radical expression, whether that’s writing breakdowns and two-step parts, or writing choruses and poppy bubblegum hooks. We’re going to do it, whether people like it or not, because it’s personal. I love hardcore, but it’s not my prerogative, and I’m okay with that. I think that, in and of itself, is very hardcore, on the ethos side of things.”
She added:
“We want to consistently embody a hardcore mindset, to whatever degree is possible. But also, I love music as a whole. It’s not just about punk and hardcore for me. Music and art are so vital to my existence, so why wouldn’t I honour that?”
You can dig into the whole discussion via Kerrang!. “Are We All Angels” is slated for an April 04th release.
