Rocker (feedbot)
Gold Member
- Messages
- 4,500
- Reaction score
- 32
- Points
- 16
Unless you’ve been chronically offline or living under a rock, the name Scowl is likely very familiar to you if you’re a hardcore fan. Over the last few years, the California quintet have shot through the ranks at lightning speed, carving out a space for their piercing brand of aggression alongside bands like Turnstile and Drain. Now, they’re cordoning off part of that space just for them. Their new album ‘Are We All Angels’ sees them push their boundaries and expand their sound, exploring alienation, grief and the loss of control with a refreshing vibrancy. Spoiler alert: it’s great.
The opening number ‘Special’ does a great job of setting the tone for both the music and the lyrical themes. Delving into vocalist Kat Moss’s inner turbulence about the band’s ever-growing popularity while craving normality, the track glistens with melody – something Moss has turned up the dial on throughout the album – while the biting riffs and raw harmonics provide that familiar serrated backbone. What follows is a mixture of the expected and the unexpected. This is eleven tracks of adrenaline-surging hardcore, but you’ve never heard Scowl this open and vulnerable.
There’s plenty to sink your teeth into here, but what you’re consuming is seasoned differently to what you’re used to. ‘Cellophane’ is a menacing thrasher, its jagged guitars and unrelenting pace creating a huge sonic wrecking ball. ‘B.A.B.E’ belongs on a Tony Hawks Pro Skater soundtrack, that rapid pace, hook-heavy chorus and sunny disposition practically designed for chugging a litre of cranberry juice cruising down the freeway. ‘Fantasy’ has an almost Nirvana edge to it, with delicious vocal melodies draped over rabid, energetic grunge and a seriously dirty bass tone as Moss discusses feeling distant from the very scene she’s a part of. There’s hook-fest ‘Not Hell, Not Heaven’, the moody and groovy ‘Fleshed Out’, the furious crescendo of the closing title track – the flow of the the record is immaculate, moving through a plethora of different vibes without anything sounding out of place.
Where the album excels, though, is where they explore their newfound melodic side. ‘Suffer The Fool (How High Are You?)’ is almost a Weezer song with that perfect head-banging pace, chunky guitars and angelic harmonies caressing your brain on what could be a huge radio smash. The guitars on ‘Tonight (I’m Afraid)’ are beautifully structured, weaving in and out of the foreground to allow the bass and vocals to take the spotlight in all the right places. One of the standouts is ‘Haunted’, which appears late in the album as a brief respite before the bedlam of the album closer. A graceful yet rough-edged waltz, the track is the most anthemic the band has ever been, and the impact is has is surprisingly powerful.
‘Are We All Angels’ sees Scowl at their sweetest, but there’s a lethal spice laced within the sugar that makes the band more dangerous than they’ve ever been. At the height of their career, they’ve released their most diverse and colourful record, spending most of its duration bounding through the brighter hues on the palette. But there’s the occasional dash of blood red, and that makes the band thrash like a shark in deep open waters.
This is the same Scowl that cut through the chaff with their razor sharp brand of ferocity, but on ‘Are We All Angels’ they’re hiding their blades in delicious, brightly coloured candy. This might look like a safe and easy to digest record on the surface but remember, appearances can be deceiving. You are not safe.
DAVE STEWART
The opening number ‘Special’ does a great job of setting the tone for both the music and the lyrical themes. Delving into vocalist Kat Moss’s inner turbulence about the band’s ever-growing popularity while craving normality, the track glistens with melody – something Moss has turned up the dial on throughout the album – while the biting riffs and raw harmonics provide that familiar serrated backbone. What follows is a mixture of the expected and the unexpected. This is eleven tracks of adrenaline-surging hardcore, but you’ve never heard Scowl this open and vulnerable.
There’s plenty to sink your teeth into here, but what you’re consuming is seasoned differently to what you’re used to. ‘Cellophane’ is a menacing thrasher, its jagged guitars and unrelenting pace creating a huge sonic wrecking ball. ‘B.A.B.E’ belongs on a Tony Hawks Pro Skater soundtrack, that rapid pace, hook-heavy chorus and sunny disposition practically designed for chugging a litre of cranberry juice cruising down the freeway. ‘Fantasy’ has an almost Nirvana edge to it, with delicious vocal melodies draped over rabid, energetic grunge and a seriously dirty bass tone as Moss discusses feeling distant from the very scene she’s a part of. There’s hook-fest ‘Not Hell, Not Heaven’, the moody and groovy ‘Fleshed Out’, the furious crescendo of the closing title track – the flow of the the record is immaculate, moving through a plethora of different vibes without anything sounding out of place.
Where the album excels, though, is where they explore their newfound melodic side. ‘Suffer The Fool (How High Are You?)’ is almost a Weezer song with that perfect head-banging pace, chunky guitars and angelic harmonies caressing your brain on what could be a huge radio smash. The guitars on ‘Tonight (I’m Afraid)’ are beautifully structured, weaving in and out of the foreground to allow the bass and vocals to take the spotlight in all the right places. One of the standouts is ‘Haunted’, which appears late in the album as a brief respite before the bedlam of the album closer. A graceful yet rough-edged waltz, the track is the most anthemic the band has ever been, and the impact is has is surprisingly powerful.
‘Are We All Angels’ sees Scowl at their sweetest, but there’s a lethal spice laced within the sugar that makes the band more dangerous than they’ve ever been. At the height of their career, they’ve released their most diverse and colourful record, spending most of its duration bounding through the brighter hues on the palette. But there’s the occasional dash of blood red, and that makes the band thrash like a shark in deep open waters.
This is the same Scowl that cut through the chaff with their razor sharp brand of ferocity, but on ‘Are We All Angels’ they’re hiding their blades in delicious, brightly coloured candy. This might look like a safe and easy to digest record on the surface but remember, appearances can be deceiving. You are not safe.
DAVE STEWART