• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

CATCHING BREAKS: VARY LUMAR COME IN FROM THE COLD

Written by MARTIN CABALLERO Posted December 4, 2014 Filed Under: MUSIC

MU_VaryLumarJarrodStaples

Photo By Jarrod Staples

 

When last we saw prog-rock quartet Vary Lumar, the group’s career trajectory was following roughly the same path as the lone figure walking through a snow-covered forest on the cover of its last release, 2013’s Capture. After 9 years, several EPs, two full-length albums, and a string of singles, Paul De Pasquale and the band felt alienated, unfocused, and on the verge of being lost for good.

 

“We were kind of falling off the map,” says De Pasquale on the phone from his Somerville home, sticking with the navigation metaphor. With their original guitar player Ben Case having moved on, the group—now consisting of De Pasquale, Rob Fusco, Rob Laff, and Christopher Brown—was reduced to a trio and had virtually stopped recording or playing shows, mired in a deep funk that had them questioning whether or not the entire endeavor was worth continuing. “We’ve been playing as a band since 2004, and we always battle with when is enough going to be enough. Everyone’s getting older, everyone’s got other things in their life, and there’s been times when we thought, ‘Let’s just call it a day.’”

 

One glance at the cover for their new eight-track set Breaker, which they’ll be celebrating with a performance at T.T. the Bear’s on Friday, should catch you up on where they stand now: a hooded figure stands ready to flick a switch, representing something of a reset button for De Pasquale and the band.

 

“When we started playing that album live last summer, we got a new band member [Brown], and I think it was like this switch, and that’s the whole ‘breaker’ thing,” explains De Pasquale. “We started dabbling more in electronic and trip hop, more of a laid back kind of feel than some of the other stuff that we’ve done. There’s not a lot of rock going on, which is new for us. But it was taking us out of that funk from Capture, out of that alienation. We just thought, ‘Let’s go back to what we love about music and go out and play shows.’”

 

The band’s revitalized energy is palpable on Breaker, but so is a richer and more expansive sense of musicianship. De Pasquale is right when he says they aren’t rocking as much, and songs like “Paperweight” and “The Prince” find murky pockets of space deep in the mix in which to operate with patience and elegant restraint. The electronic elements complement rather than overwhelm Lumar’s foundation of organic bass, guitar, drum, and vocals, on record at least; the task of faithfully adapting that to their live performances is the next challenge. Still, the path looks a lot brighter now.

 

“Right from the first song, we knew this was kind of the beginning of what we hope would be the future of the band,” says De Pasquale. “We’re already talking about the next year and doing some more playing and touring.”

 

 

VARY LUMAR BREAKER ALBUM RELEASE PARTY W/ ALOUD + DOOM LOVER + VELAH.  T.T. THE BEAR’S PLACE, 10 BROOKLINE ST., CAMBRIDGE. FRI 12.5. 9PM/$8/18+. VARYLUMAR.COM

MARTIN CABALLERO
More from author
  • MARTIN CABALLERO
    https://digboston.com/author/martin-caballero/
    COMPTON TALENT BUDDY STEPS OUT
  • MARTIN CABALLERO
    https://digboston.com/author/martin-caballero/
    SEEKING DREAMS AND TAKING STANDS WITH GOAPELE
  • MARTIN CABALLERO
    https://digboston.com/author/martin-caballero/
    ON DECK: DJ + PRODUCER DURKIN DOES IT ALL
  • MARTIN CABALLERO
    https://digboston.com/author/martin-caballero/
    INTERVIEW: DIVING IN WITH GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS

Filed Under: MUSIC Tagged With: album review, Ben Case, Breaker, Capture, Christopher Brown, De Pasquale, Dig Boston, DigBoston, Music, Paperweight, Paul De Pasquale, prog-rock, quartet, Rob Fusco, Rob Laff, T.T. the Bear’s, The Prince, Vary Lumar

WHAT’S NEW

2021 Biden inauguration Boston

PHOTOS & RECAP: “NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN” RALLY IN BOSTON

2020 Indian farmers' protest - On a truck. Photo CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain by Randeep Maddoke, randeepphotoartist@gmail.com.

OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM?

WU ASSERTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS IN HER CAMPAIGN

WU ASSERTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTS IN HER CAMPAIGN

STREET MEDICS BOLSTER PROTESTS IN MORE WAYS THAN YOU MAY REALIZE

STREET MEDICS BOLSTER PROTESTS IN MORE WAYS THAN YOU MAY REALIZE

HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP

HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HONORED, SPEAKERS ADDRESS RACISM

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. HONORED, SPEAKERS ADDRESS RACISM

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE by MARC LEVY
  • Aerial View Parkman Bandstand at Boston Common. CC BY-SA 4.0 2017 by AbhiSuryawanshi. NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM by MATTHEW ANDREWS
  • VIDEO: COP WHO BRAGGED THAT HE HIT PROTESTERS SHOWS HOW BAD APPLES THRIVE IN BOSTON by CHRIS FARAONE
  • PRISON HORRORS BY THE NUMBERS by SARAH BETANCOURT
  • IT’S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT’S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT? by ZACK HUFFMAN

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

Footer

digbos

HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO A HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP https://digboston.com/no-justice-how-officials-in-one-mass-town-took-extraordinary-measures-to-appease-a-controversial-cop/ #ArlingtonMA #police #reform #cop #racism #controversy #BlackLivesMatter #Massachusetts
Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for host Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for hosts, servers, bartenders, bussers … What happens to those #jobs if virtual kitchens continue to flourish? https://digboston.com/ghost-story-virtual-kitchens-appear-to-be-the-next-big-thing-but-at-what-cost/ #restaurant #labor #work #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
“I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan “I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan. 7 in the same country we went to bed in on the 6th.” https://digboston.com/former-mass-gubernatorial-candidate-predicted-violence-before-assault-on-capitol/ #politics #Massachusetts #national #Capitol #WashingtonDC #MAGA
RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL http RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL https://digboston.com/radical-and-relevant-the-life-of-harry-brill/ #obituary #organizer #radical #sociologist #democracy #politics @UMassBoston @BklynCollege411 @UCBerkeley #Boston #Massachusetts #NewYorkCity #Berkeley #California
NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON CO NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM https://digboston.com/no-honeymoon-for-biden-1-20-protest-on-boston-common-4-pm/ #opinion #progressive #left #action #inauguration #Boston #Massachusetts
Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this lat Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this latest incarnation of a #beer that’s been in the making for months. https://digboston.com/video-jacks-abby-x-boston-celtics-pride-and-parquet-hoppy-lager-unboxing-tasting/ #fun #video #review #Boston #Massachusetts
Jostling for position and influence are the disadv Jostling for position and influence are the disadvantaged candidates, existing industry participants, and municipalities … https://digboston.com/the-road-to-home-delivery-pt-5-dogs-in-the-fight-identifying-the-players/ #cannabis #politics #analysis #Massachusetts
The candidates will be interviewed about the upcom The candidates will be interviewed about the upcoming race. https://digboston.com/wu-and-campbell-to-speak-at-mayoral-candidate-webinar/ #politics #mayor #campaign #Boston #Massachusetts
Participants took to the streets in the hope of sw Participants took to the streets in the hope of swaying the Biden administration. https://digboston.com/on-national-day-of-action-protesters-call-for-eviction-moratorium/ #housing #justice #protest #national #Boston #Massachusetts
“They refuse to respond to this humanitarian cri “They refuse to respond to this humanitarian crisis where people really need them. We’re just ignoring this problem and it’s getting worse and worse.” https://digboston.com/its-harder-than-ever-to-find-a-bathroom-in-boston-whats-the-city-doing-about-it/ #politics #unhoused #homeless #bathroom #public #health #Boston #Massachusetts
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]