Local Band to Know: Old Lights, Opening for Constantines/Crystal Antlers

In recent months, the band Old Lights has cropped up everywhere around town (and beyond): opening for Magnolia Electric Co. in Columbia, playing after the Decemberists in the Halo Bar and tomorrow, opening the Constantines/Crystal Antlers show at the Duck Room. (For good measure, the band is also playing with Telekinesis at Off Broadway later in the month and opening for Richard Swift at Schuba's in Chicago.)

A little digging lead to the discovery that the band is the brainchild of David Beeman, who's been playing around town with several bands in recent years. (This particular model features, among others, man-about-town Kit Hamon on bass.) Old Lights is much more serious and fully realized, however -- as new songs such as "If You Come Over Tonight" (hear below) prove. Tunes on its MySpace page include well-constructed, heartfelt indie rock indebted to Okkervil River, early Rilo Kiley and the Smiths. When -- and it's not an if -- the big fancy music blogs elsewhere discover Old Lights, St. Louisians can be proud to say the band is from here.

Beeman, incidentally, has worked as a front of house sound engineer/tour manager for Cold War Kids (he grew up with CWK bassist Matt Maust) and plays drums for David Vandervelde. The band is also gearing up to record eighteen new songs(!).
MP3: Old Lights, "If You Come Over Tonight"