Wildly Addictive Indie Rock From Utah-Via Hawaii With The Moss

On The Table Read, “the best entertainment magazine in the UK“, indie rock and blues band, The Moss, release new single, Insomnia.

Insomnia

New single from Utah-via Hawaii indie rock group The Moss, “Insomnia” is described as a “bittersweet song about passing the point in a relationship where you can’t sleep at night when you are away from them.”

“Insomnia” features explosive melodies and melodic guitar riffs soaring over driving basslines for a wildly addictive sonic journey. 

The Moss are an exuberant modern-indie-meets-’60s-blues four-piece known for their dynamic live shows.

The Moss

In a musical landscape with fewer boundaries than ever before, THE MOSS’s exuberant brand of alternative rock spans genres, eras, and even oceans.

The Utah-via-Hawaii group was born on the shores of Oahu in 2015, as teenage buddies Tyke James (vocals/guitar) and Addison Sharp (guitar) picked up a gig serenading diners at local taco trucks in between surf sessions. Naturally, their songs took shape in the spirit of the island, imbued with the joyfulness and breeziness of reggae culture yet cut with the introspection and communal spirit of mainland indie acts like Pinegrove and Cage the Elephant.

Bryology

By 2018, the duo had grown, enlisting Willie Fowler on drums and Addison’s brother Brierton on bass, and traded in beaches for the Great Salt Lake. They hit the stage at spots like local cornerstone Kilby Court, live-testing their modern-indie-meets-’60s-blues with a wide-eyed exuberance that translated effortlessly into their 2019 self-released debut, Bryology. 

Colored by the sound of Stratocasters jamming through reverb-cranked Fender amps, all backed by bouncy rhythms, Bryology marked a big step for the still-young quartet – but, true to The Moss’s nature, was still hard-coded with a DIY ethos.

“We basically had no budget,” James remembers fondly. “We bought some nice mics and an interface and I ended up learning how to mix while we were recording.”

Kentucky Derby

The follow-up, 2021’s Kentucky Derby, brought a more aspirational, blue-sky tilt to the foundation they’d laid on Bryology, expanding the group’s sonic arsenal while keeping the relatable lyrical style and sun-soaked sentiment at the forefront. “I’m really proud of how we’ve evolved as a band over time,” Addison Sharp says. “It feels like we’ve taken every different influence and mashed them all together to create something that feels really special.”

“Bryology seemed like a collection of separate songs we put together to make an album, whereas Kentucky Derby is a similar thought and story coming together to collectively make a more cohesive album,” adds Brierton Sharp says, noting the album’s tracks are sneakily arranged in pairs of two that seamlessly flow into one another. “Each song could be listened to on its own, or you could listen to them all and get a broader sense of our intention.”

Audiotree

No matter how listeners choose to interact with The Moss’s music, the band just hopes they feel something. It’s that kinetic relationship between band and audience that makes their live performances – including a pitch-perfect recent set for Audiotree – so compelling.

“No matter what we do, we want to make sure the songs are fun to play live,” says Fowler. “We pride ourselves on being a band people want to see live.”

“There’s something special that happens when you get an immediate reaction to a song,” says James. “Whether it’s during a live show or even just a songwriting session, if there’s a reaction from people in the room, you know you’re on the right track.”

Find more from The Moss now:

Upcoming shows:

July 15th – Denver, CO – Lost Lake

July 16th – Colorado Springs, CO – Lulu’s

July 23rd – Seattle, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party

July 30th – Sandpoint ID w/ Mt. Joy

Sept 10th – Hurricane UT – Superbloom fest

https://www.themossband.com/shows

https://www.instagram.com/themossband

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