Meet The Beanstalk Library (Again!)
One of the first DC-area bands that I discovered when I moved down from New York in late 2007 was The Beanstalk Library. At the time, I had this to say about the band’s excellent debut album, America at Night:
The Beanstalk Library write catchy, often jangly Americana rock. If that bunch of pseudo-rock criticism makes you think of Wilco, R.E.M., The Byrds or The Old 97’s, well, good, because that’s what I meant to say. The band’s debut album, America at Night, reflects a hodgepodge of these influences, but thankfully never feels overly-indebted to any single source. Definitely a band worth keeping an eye on.
Yet try as I might to keep an eye on the band, about a year or so ago they seemed to up and disappear. No live shows, no news, no nothin’.
Well, it turns out that the band’s silence was due to some turnover in their ranks – they lost (amicably) a couple of members, with only songwriters Ryan Walker and Brian Kent remaining in the band.
I’m happy to report, however, that after taking some time to recruit new members and finish up recordings of five new demos, The Beanstalk Library is back.
In fact, today they’re releasing all five of the aforementioned recordings for free download. The songs feature guest appearances by Tom Hnatow of These United States on pedal steel and banjo; Susan Hsu of Exit Clov on violin; Brett Niederman of Exit Clov on organ; and Kate Rears, formerly of The Alphabetical Order, on cello.
And I gotta say – the songs are spectacular. This was a very good band the last time we heard from them. But if these songs are any indication, they may now be a great one.
Here’s an exclusive download of my favorite song on the EP (though it’s very, very close):
The Beanstalk Library, “It Has Made All The Difference”
The four other new songs are being debuted on four other DC-area blogs today as well. As soon as I have links for them, I’ll post them here. Or you can click on over to the band’s website and find the links there.
Oh, and if you’re in DC and not seeing The National that night (as I unfortunately am), be sure to catch the band at Iota on Monday, May 25th!
[...] “It Has Made All The Difference” at Baby Stew [...]
[...] main draw of the show to me is, of course, The Beanstalk Library, who recently returned to action after a year-long layoff and released an incredible 5-song demo/EP (which you should download for [...]