[show_avatar email=julie@iwenttoashow.com align=left avatar_size=62] Cleveland’s chamber folk/dream pop nice guys, The Lighthouse and the Whaler made their second appearance in St. Louis for a Tuesday night show at Cicero’s in the U-City loop. If you’ve never heard them, their sound combines the edgy percussion of freak folk like The Dodos with near-baroque pop string arrangements (TWO violins, people. C’MON!). The four boys flew into the airy harmony of “Under Mountain, Underground,” with mandolin and keys augmenting Michael LoPresti’s radio-ready vocals. “White Days,” their big breakout song, busted out some seriously charming glockenspiel. St. Louis got the added bonus of three brand new songs, including this one from a future album that will hopefully drop soon.

Video: New Song from The Lighthouse and the Whaler!

Gracious and bubbly, LoPresti kept the crowd entertained with his between-song banter and managed to make even dropping his guitar look suave. While he tried to convince us that they were frantically scrambling to get in positions before every song started, the guys traded instruments with grace. Lighthouse served Tuesday’s crowd an exuberant and joyful performance that left everyone giddy. The night ended far too soon. Keep your eyes open for their new record and (here’s hoping) another St. Louis appearance in the very near future. And if you haven’t yet, get thee to bandcamp to download their 2009 album. Every single song is solid.

More of Jess Luther’s photos from the show