Moss Icon have been hailed as emo pioneers. Their 1993 album Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly has garnered well deserved praise. Rolling Stone named it one of the “40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time,” and declared that the album “still sounds ahead of its time.” Pitchfork placed it on the “Highest Rated Post-Hardcore Albums of All Time” list and gave it “Best Reissue” accolades. Zak Fusciello, fan-turned-Moss Icon drummer shares an insider/outsider's view of this enigmatic band including their history and development. The book also features an in-depth analysis of the album’s lyrics through extensive interviews with band members and other musicians from the scene.
Fusciello, a psychotherapist, explores the loss, grief and transformation that is at the heart of Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly’s lyrics. From family members with severe mental illness to death, the lyrics of Lyburnum tell vocalist/lyricist Jonathan Vance’s story of processing trauma, overcoming loss and seeking sanctuary. As the first book on Moss Icon, Fusciello's account helps fill in the gaps of post-punk music history.
Moss Icon's Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly
Zak Fusciello
The drummer of this influential post-punk band shares the history of the band and explores the idea of the album as a cultural document of “death music.”Rights Sold
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Book Details
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication Date: 12-11-2026
Format: Paperback | 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 | 176 pagesAbout the Author
Zak Fusciello is a psychotherapist, drummer and writer living in Baltimore, Maryland, with his wife and son. He joined Moss Icon splinter band, Breathing Walker, in 1990 and played with Moss Icon for reunion shows beginning in 2001.
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