Moss Icon is an American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band formed in late 1986 in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, United States. Its original lineup comprised vocalist Jonathan Vance, guitarist Tonie Joy, bassist Monica DiGialleonardo, and drummer Mark Laurence. Alex Badertscher joined as second guitarist in 1990. Moss Icon is considered to be an early influence on the

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

splinter genre known as

, as well as on the eventual development of

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

, although the band members themselves have repeatedly denied knowingly contributing to the latter genre in any way.

History and background

Formation to breakup

The band's identifying characteristics, and those that distinguished them from their contemporaries, included noticeable and abrupt transitions from loud to quiet, and Vance's esoteric, stream of conscious lyrical content. Earlier recordings of the band are reminiscent of early

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

, while later songs embodied a less blunt approach with more exploratory arrangements and riffage. Vance's lyrics touched upon vaguely, among other issues, the plight of

indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

, and opposed the U.S. government's involvement in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. The band played frequently with fellow Annapolis band The Hated. Moss Icon recorded their debut 7", "Hate in Me", in January 1988, and entered the studio several months later to record their second 7", "Mahpiua Luta". Their ''Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly'' LP was recorded by Les Lentz (who engineered all of their studio recordings) throughout 1988 but was not released until mid-1994, three years after the band's break-up, by

Vermiform Records Vermiform Records was an American independent record label that specialized in releasing punk rock music from 1990 until 2002. Vermiform released 58 albums and relocated many times, being headquartered in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Isl ...

. Moss Icon's third 7", entitled "Memorial", was recorded in January 1991 along with a split LP with Silver Bearing. In 1994

Ebullition Records Boiling is the rapid vaporization of a liquid, which occurs when a liquid is heated to its boiling point, the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to the pressure exerted on the liquid by the surrounding atmosphere. Th ...

released the ''It Disappears'' LP, compiling songs from "Memorial" with live versions of several songs. In 1990 a splinter project of Moss Icon was formed called Breathing Walker, containing all four members of Moss Icon plus Alex Badertscher on bass, Zak Fusciello on percussion, and Tim Horner on violin. Breathing Walker released a cassette that was re-released on vinyl and CD in 2001 by the Vermin Scum label, along with live tracks.

Post-breakup and 2001 reformation

After the dissolution of Moss Icon, guitarist Tonie Joy was a member of the bands

Universal Order of Armageddon Universal Order of Armageddon was an American hardcore band, active from 1992 to 1994 and reformed in 2010. History The band formed in September 1992. By early 1993, after quickly gaining a small but devoted following, they recorded and toured ...

Born Against Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989 and 1993. In addition to their radical leftist politics, the group espoused a DIY punk message and challenged what they perceived as being a problem within the p ...

, and The Convocation Of.... (later rechristened

The Convocation The Convocation (formerly The Convocation Of...) is an American psychedelic rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. History As The Convocation Of..., the band was formed by George France, Tonie Joy, and Guy Blakeslee in August 1998. Joy had previo ...

). Other band members were less involved in music, excepting Laurence's drums in Lava, DiGialleonardo's Blue Condors, and Vance's solo debut LP. Moss Icon reunited to play two shows with Zak Fusciello on drums, one at the 2001 More Than Music Fest in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

and the other at the renovated Charles Theatre in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Recent activity

In July 2008, Moss Icon was named one of the "23 Bands Who Shaped Punk" by ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' magazine in issue No. 240. Vance's first officially released book ''Tulip Has a Room'' was published by Easysubcult. Since 2007 Joy, Vance, Zak Fusciello, and Alex Badertscher have been occasionally working on new material in Baltimore, MD for a possible new recording. A discography was released in May 2012 on

Temporary Residence Limited Temporary Residence Limited (shortened TRL) is a Brooklyn, New York-based record label. TRL was started in Louisville, Kentucky in 1996 by Jeremy DeVine, and initially concentrated on releasing music by Louisville-based bands.

which featured two discs, photos and lyrics. The band also played a couple live shows (NYC and Washington DC) in December 2014.

Discography

*''Demo Tape''

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...

(1987, self-released) #Hate in Me #What They Lack #Never Turning #My Strength, My Weakness #Mirror #We Deny #Sorrow *''Hate in Me'' 7" (1988, Vermin Scum/Dancing Song) #Hate In Me #What They Lack #I'm Back Sleeping or Fucking or Something #Kiss The Girls and Make Them Die *''Mahpiua Luta'' 7" (1989, Vermin Scum) #The Life or This Grape’s Juice Drink #Kicks the Can *''Memorial'' 7" (1991, Vermin Scum) #Memorial #Moth *''Moss Icon/Silver Bearing'' split LP with Silver Bearing (1991, Vermin Scum) #Guatemala #Gravity #Familiar Presides #As Afterwards The Words Still Ring *''Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly'' LP (1994,

) **

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or Single (music), single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New aud ...

d in 1997 on CD with selected tracks from ''It Disappears'' as ''Lyburnum'' on Vermiform Records #Mirror #I'm Back Sleeping or Fucking or Something #The Life #Divinity Cove #Locket #Kick the Can #Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly #Cricketty Rise #As Afterwards The Words Still Ring #Happy (Unbounded Glory) *''It Disappears'' LP (1994,

/ Vermin Scum) #Guatemala #Memorial #Moth #Gravity #I'm Back Sleeping or Fucking or Something (Live) #It Disappears ;Compilation appearances *Panx Zine No. 3

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

7" - song "Mirror" (1988, Panx) *''Life is Change'' comp CD - song "Guatemala" (1991, Bari Beri) *''Superpowers'' cassette compilation - song "Sioux Day" (1992, Troubleman Unlimited) *''Powerless II'' comp LP - song "Divinity Cove" (1992) *''Fear of Smell'' comp LP - song "Excerpt From It Disappears" (1993, Vermiform) *''False Object Sensor'' comp LP/CD - song "Cornflower Blue" with Daniel Littleton of The Hated and Ida, and Michael Littleton of Ida (2001, Vermiform—also appears on The Hated "unreleased songs" bootleg LP)

References

External links

Temporary Residence reissues websiteMoss Icon - BandToBand.comReview of the Hate In Me 7"Moss Icon's Official Myspace page
{{Authority control American post-hardcore musical groups Hardcore punk groups from Maryland Musical groups established in 1986 1986 establishments in Maryland American emo musical groups First-wave emo bands