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BY MAT WEIR / 📷 by Mario F  

The Catalyst was feeling supernatural on Saturday, November 30th for the second annual Psychic Dance Party thrown by local hardcore act, Scowl. As with last year, the five piece act handpicked a collection of punk, rock and synthwave bands for a hometown show to ring out the year. 

“We pick bands we want to see,” laughs Scowl drummer Cole Gilbert. 

This year’s collection included Bay Area hardcore act Rule of Thumb, along with Oakland’s post-hardcore group Marbled Eye, Santa Cruz’s all women rock band Sluttony, Southern California’s hardcore punks Cosmic Joke and retro-pop synthwave group, Male Tears. 

“Everyone in [Scowl] had a hand in it and it all came together,” says Scowl guitarist, Malachai Greene.

Mikey Bifalco, Scowl’s other guitarist, agrees. 

“We all just love different styles of music and there’s a certain vibe we try to maintain,” he says. “Last year was a straight-up dance party.” 

Since 2019 Scowl has been at the forefront of the latest hardcore wave that has been sweeping the underground scene across America and Europe. During that fledgling year the band released a

demo and their debut EP, Reality After Reality. . .which happened to celebrate it’s 5th birthday on November 30th, the night of the Catalyst show. 

Just as the band was starting to get a firm stance in the local scene–lovingly named the 40831 to represent the combination of the San Jose and Santa Cruz scenes which share bands and musicians–Covid put the whole world on pause. However, as with many other bands in underground punk and metal music, the pandemic allowed new audiences from around the world to discover independent groups, Scowl included. 

So when the now infamous renegade RBS–or “Real Bay Shit”–show happened in San Jose in June 2021, Scowl was asked to open. Despite promoters not revealing the exact location of the show until merely hours before, over 2000 people (some traveling as far as the East Coast) descended upon an unsuspecting industrial parking lot. 

That same year Scowl dropped their debut full-length album, How Flowers Grow, solidifying their place in hardcore. Since then the band’s operating on “No Days Off” mode. Along with the original line-up of Kat Moss on vocals, Malachai Greene on guitar, Bailey Lupo on bass and Cole Gilbert on drums, they added Mikey Bifalco on second guitar to add another layer to their sound. In 2023 they dropped their Psychic Dance Routine EP which found the band evolving with dancier beats and cleaner singing without abandoning the short riffs and guttural singing that put them on the map in the first place. 

It’s impressive the band has found any time to record at all considering their constant tour schedule. Along with their own headlining tours, Scowl’s played massive festivals like No Valuues and shared the stages with punk royalty like The Misfits, Iggy Pop and the Circle Jerks. 

“You get home from tour and you remember you can actually go grocery shopping,” says Lupo “Instead of ‘What can I buy for five dollars at a gas station?”

Scowl’s recognized by the mainstream music community as well. 

In 2022 they played a string of arena dates opening for Limp Bizkit and last year they graced the stage at the annual Coachella festival in Indio, CA. This past June they played France’s iconic Hellfest Open Air Festival–astoundingly attended by over 280,000 fans–gracing the Warzone stage with contemporaries like Gel, Show Me The Body and Drug Church along with seminal Oi! British punk band, Cock Sparrer. However, those are just some of the over 200 bands on the bill including names like Saxon, Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters and Metallica. 

“I feel like we are the little guys,” Greene admits. “We’re just a hardcore band that tours but I want to put on [shows] for any of our homies or young, up-and-coming bands. We’re a band that can play a big fest but if someone were to ask us to play a house show, we’d probably play it.” 

“As a performer I felt like a rockstar,” Moss exclaims. “It was so cool and I just want to do it again.” =

“My family was already supportive of me,” Gilbert says. “But my mom called me about playing with Metallica before I even got to tell her.”

Bifolco laughs saying, “My dad just texted back, ‘Nice.’” 

It’s been a busy year for Scowl as they continue to take the world by storm and spread the message of the 40831 hardcore scene. This past October Scowl marked another milestone in their five year career when they announced they signed with independent label, Dead Oceans. 

Based out of Indiana, Dead Oceans was started in 2007 and Scowl now finds themselves label mates with fellow popular acts like Japanese Breakfast, Khurangbin, Bright Eyes and Phoebe Bridgers. 

The announcement came the same day as the release of the band’s first new single and music video, “Special.” 

Filmed in Topanga Canyon in Southern California and directed by Silken Weiberg, “Special” finds the band in the woods drawing straws. When Moss draws the shortest one, the rest of the band dawns gruesome masks horror movie fans might find familiar as they hunt her down. In the end, Moss turns the tables and seeks her revenge. 

The song itself is a thesis on self-identity, trying to remain true to oneself when fans & media attention put the band on a pedestal of prophecy. 

“We chose that as a first single because we thought it was a good introduction into what is to come for the sonic landscape of Scowl,” Moss says. “Lyrically it’s genuinely so direct. I don’t want to be the idol. I don’t want this platform to be all about the band. It’s a desperate attempt to rip that apart.” 

However, despite their leavened rise, Scowl remains firmly rooted and hasn’t forgotten where they came from. Along with the annual Psychic Dance Party and Santa Cruz love, the band will always support those who helped them get their start, like the label that put out their debut LP.

“Flatspot [Records] forever!” Moss says. “Honestly, we love them–Ricky [Singh] and Che [Figueroa]–so much. That was such a special time for us as a band to work with them and I don’t think that’s ever going to stop. Even though we’re on a different label, we’re never going to stop putting on for them.” 

Back at the Catalyst, fans raged to the eclectic sounds of the Psychic Dance Party. Yet audiences still had plenty of energy for circle pitting by the time Scowl hit the stage. The band opened with the self-titled track off their 2020 demo, the first time playing that song live since the year it came out. The 18 song set blasted through a number of the band’s hits and fan favorites including “Special” and a live debut of a new track “Babe.” Scowl was also joined by friends Sammy Ciaramitaro (Drain) and Marco Chavez (Angel) performing vocals for the song “Fuck Around.” 

For the rest of the year the band will do what they do best: embark on another tour, of course. However, this time it’s just a short run with select California dates as 2024 draws to a close. Which is fine by them, as 2025 is looking to be another big year for Scowl. 

The release of “Special” has many fans speculating a new album in the very near horizon. Which would make sense, as Scowl is a group that can’t–and won’t–sit idly on the side letting life pass them by. 

“There’s a lot happening on the backend,” Moss admits. “We’re stirring our witch’s brew right now. It’s so fun and overwhelming.”