bidhardcore.com
hardcore records on ebay — aggregated and examined
Well it’s fall again and it’s getting cold quick this time. You can’t really blame me for the sense of melancholy that’s set in on my day to day. Yea I know… “wah wah wah“, but there’s something about the fall, as well as the spring that always brings me back to Moss Icon. I could get philosophical and say that their music mostly deals with death and rebirth, and that’s why. I’m not sure if that’s philosophical or just accurate though.
I bought the Mahpiua Luta 7″ out of a box of used records at some crust show in ‘03 for $5. I was psyched, then I went to see Lost In Translation and fell asleep in the theatre. I think over time I’ve determined Mahpiua Luta has my 2 favorite Moss Icon songs. It’s a hair more subdued than their demo or first E.P. but in some ways it’s the best summation of their sound, the right amount of each ingredient in the mix.
The Life is the a-Side and is similar to their first single, but has a contemplative slower beginning, when it kicks in, it’s a quick mid-paced track, it actually reminds me a lot of the Ignition 7″s. The lyrics are mostly oblique references to loss and being unable to let go of something. The b-side, Kick The Can, goes further into contemplative territory, with vocalist John Vance acting as little more than a narrator to an abstract tale with a desert backdrop. Because of the desert imagery and downcast vibe that permeate the song, I’m sort of reminded of the quieter numbers on Meat Puppets II, although without the country influence. I think for American post hardcore it’s a really good song, actually I think both songs on the record are. As I’ve said in the past, John Vance is the only vocalist I find convincing with the shout/talk quasi-poet delivery.
There’s 3 or 4 different sleeves that turn up for this. All with the same image, but some have it glued to a manila envelope, some are folding sleeves, some I think are glued sleeves. I’ve never actually seen pressing numbers though, so I hereby appeal to the readers to post some info.
Yeah, this record is awesome, and “Kick the Can” is one of their best songs. I have the version posted here, as well as the envelope one. I saw somewhere that the envelope cover was limtied to 50, but I don’t know how reliable that is considering how there’s no real official pressing info for Moss Icon.
i also have the brown manila envelope / black paste on front version. i always figured this as the more “common” version as i seem to see more of these on ebay and whatnot. very curious also as to pressing info for this, and for the other moss icon records. cool post.
There’s a few variations - manilla envelope, picture on corrugated cardboard, normal cover are the three off the top of my head. I think there was a thread on VLV that listed four. Maybe they separated the fold over and pocket sleeve as separate variations. I vaguely recall a white envelope version as well.
From what I understand there was two pressings - probably 500 or 1000 each pressing. Maybe the pocket/fold over printed ones are first?
As for pressing numbers, I don’t know if there’s gonna be anything definitive. Tonie Joy is the only dude who would know, and I doubt that Vermin Scum record invoices from 10-15 years ago are going to turn up.