While Scowl have kept their absence this year low-key, it hasn’t gone unnoticed. The melodic hardcore band, who last played live in December of 2025, vacated their touring plans for 2026. That move left fans wondering if the group had broken up, especially when a member of the outfit began looking for gigs elsewhere on social media.
Well, we now have an answer regarding Scowl‘s disappearance and their current status per a new interview with vocalist Kat Moss conducted by Good Times. In it Moss confirmed that while the Scowl are currently on a hiatus of sorts, they have not broken up.
Instead, the emotional wear and tear of touring and life in general caught up to the group — or at least Moss — who needed to step aside to tend to some lingering grief and burnout. The 2025 death of a close friend to ovarian cancer hit Moss hard, and with her own busy schedule on the road, Moss began to emotionally shutdown on the road to cope.
She said of her mindset during the timeframe, “I really wasn’t really in my body or present, in fact, I think I had a lot of resentment at the time. I was so fucking overwhelmed I just wanted to tuck my tail and run away from everything.”
Her aforementioned friend, Bridget Smith, had been an early supporter of the band and even choreographed the music video for Scowl‘s “Psychic Dance Routine” video. Moss‘ struggles to process the loss amid promoting a new album and enduring a busy touring schedule took a toll, as she stated, “We’d be walking around somewhere in Spain, in a beautiful city with the sun shining down on my shoulders, looking at this beautiful architecture, and I’m just sobbing. Everyone would ask ‘Are you ok?’ and I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m ok. I just didn’t get much sleep last night.’”
2025 also saw the departure of guitarist Malachi Greene, whom Moss had previously been romantically involved with, further setting the band back a step. Moss appears to be easing back into things though, having returned to the stage on May 01st to front the band Not Yet, Old Dog for a one-off show consisting ofcovers of punk, rock and new wave artists.
She said of that, “I’m really excited to unravel who my artistic self is. Scowl turned into a machine. It’s really fucking cool and crazy, but it’s also nice to breathe a little, too.” She also indicated that Scowl‘s eventual return to active duty will likely not see them hit the road as hard as they used to.
Addressing that decision to scale back and step out a bit on her own, she went on to add, “I needed some freedom to breathe, and to process not just the loss but the treasure of it–how bizarre it all was and is. That’s kind of where I’ve been, but now I’m in the position to try new musical avenues. I feel like a big 28-year-old toddler.”
