Throw Me the Statue
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Moonbeams (Secretly Canadian)
by Matt Driscoll
Jul 31, 2008
As though it was by design, the naked women got me. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but it’s true.
As we work our way well into month two of online CD reviews here on weeklyvolcano.com you may have become accustomed to my references to The Crap Pile. The Crap Pile is a mountain of CDs and promotional material sent by bands near and far that sits in the corner of my office. Every Thursday I dig through it, in search of the perfect CD to review.
This week, near the top of the pile, sat Throw Me the Statue’s debut full length, Moonbeams. Though it was released in March, and I’d heard the single “Lolita” a number of times on KEXP since then, I had yet to hear the entire record. Couple this fact with the picture of topless girls jumping into a summer touched lake on the cover of Moonbeams, and, well, it was enough to hook me.
What can I say? I’m lowbrow.
This CD, however, is anything but lowbrow. And it doesn’t need topless women to attract a crowd. (Before I go too far on this topless women tangent, it should be noted that the photo is completely tasteful. There’s nothing pornographic or even erotic about it. I’m just kind of a junior high boy when it comes to boobs. When I see them, I can’t help but point them out. But anyway…)
Based out of Seattle and a proud member of the Secretly Canadian record label, Throw Me the Statue is the low-fi musical meanderings of Scott Reitherman. With help from preschool xylophones, drum machines and sun faded Casios, Reitherman produces an indie pop medley perfect for sunny day contemplation, or, indeed, topless roughhousing at the lake. The music is upbeat, at least in beat, and the simple guitar work below layers of bleeps, bloops, and ding-dongs gives Moonbeams a far bigger presence than its creation would suggest. The product of bedroom production, the layers of kitschy indie bells and whistles on Moonbeams makes this record seem huge — in a good way. It’s as though Reitherman has mastered the art of high quality, low quality recording. While it’s a ridiculous sentence to write, it’s true — and it’s an accomplishment that deserves commending.
Moonbeams opens with “Young Sensualist,” synths setting a somewhat somber mood until broken by island inspired tiptoeing on the xylophone, and Reitherman’s lackadaisical, sometimes talking, sometimes singing voice. You were an honest pal/and I wasn’t always right somehow, he sings, somehow managing to inspire a smile with listeners while crooning a tale about hooking up with his best friend’s lady. When the sun shined in and showed my lusty sin/ You were angry then, maybe still…
Moonbeams second track is the single, “Lolita,” which utilizes a brisk drumbeat pace, a few handclaps and a lot of tinkering to make one of the record’s highpoints. Reminiscent of bands like the Shins and the Long Winters, Reitherman shows his prowess on “Lolita,” as well as other pop indie pop gems on the record like “Your Girlfriends Car,” the short and sweet guitar driven number “This is How We Kiss” — which could have come from the Beach Boys catalog — and the slowed down crawl of the record’s namesake “Moonbeams.” All of it proves Throw Me the Statue can hold its own with any hip indie outfit Seattle, Portland, or anywhere else for that matter has to offer.
The bottom line is Throw Me the Statue have produced a perfect summer record. While there’s still a couple weeks left of this “summer” thing, I highly recommend checking it out. It’s gentle, endearing, and effortless — like a pop record should be.
There are also topless women on the cover, which doesn’t hurt.
