Moist

During the ’90s, Moist emerged as one of Canada’s leading post-grunge bands thanks to a penchant for brooding tempos, yearning melodies, and turbulent guitars. Formed in Vancouver in 1992 by a group of onetime Ontario residents—vocalist David Usher, guitarist Mark Makoway, bassist Jeff Pearce, and keyboardist Kevin Young—the group initially landed a record deal after a self-released 1993 demo cassette became a big seller in Canadian record stores. Moist’s 1994 debut, Silver, fit right in with the grungy rock sounds of the day, going multiplatinum on the strength of the urgent title track and the seething “Push.” The band started expanding their sound beginning with 1996’s Creature, notably on the horn-augmented title track, and 1999’s mellower, midtempo Mercedes Five & Dime. Moist were dormant for much of the 2000s, leaving space for Usher to cultivate a rich and varied solo career. However, the band returned to action in 2014 with the guitar-driven, tougher-edged Glory Under Dangerous Skies and have continued with sporadic touring (including a Silver 25th anniversary trek) and more propulsive releases (2022’s End of the Ocean).