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. 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-eyedexuberance that translated effortlessly into their 2019 self-released debut, Bryology.