Lumen

Lumen originated as a bedroom collective assembled by a handful of individuals who shared an aversion to post-rock. The project moved into public performance in 1997 once Jeffrey Rosenberg, Jeffrey Kane, Andee Connors, and David Blei began playing shows in San Francisco, the city where they had grown up. Their debut EP, Toffee, presented the quartet’s eccentric fusion of metal ballads, punk, and new age through densely arranged parts that incorporated acoustic guitars, upright bass, organs, and accordion. After several members moved to Los Angeles and Oakland, Temporary Residency Limited issued the group’s first full-length album, The Man Felt an Iron Hand, in 2001.