I was perusing the SXSW Band list a few days ago and stumbled upon Throw Me the Statue. I instantly liked the featured single, “About To Walk,” and set about to find more, and I’ve been listening to it obsessively ever since. Just yesterday, Secretly Candadian gave us the official release of Moonbeams, Throw Me the Statue’s first album, and the band were Spin Magazine’s Artist of the Day.
Scott Reitherman, a California transplant to Seattle, is the creative force behind Throw Me the Statue. He has obviously absorbed musical influence from Neutral Milk Hotel (”About To Walk,” “The Happiest Man On This Planet”), Mark Kozelek (”Conquering Kids About To Walk”), the bouncy pop/rock of Fountains of Wayne (”This Is How We Kiss,” “Take It Or Leave It”), and even Of Montreal (”Yucatan Gold”). “Your Girlfriend’s Car” begins with a keyboard riff that reminds me of my favorite English Beat song, “I Confess.”
However, Moonbeams is not a bunch of copy-cat songs but a true fusion of the best characteristics of its inspirations. Each track on Moonbeams carries its own distinct theme with strength. The album never sounds disjointed or hopelessly lost in its inspirational roots. And the lyrics…oh wow, the lyrics!
You don’t get this kind of excellence from copying other artists. Reitherman has a true gift for transferring the emotion of his personal experiences directly into your heart. Examples are all over the album.
Check these from “Written In Hearts Signs, Faintly.” Who doesn’t want to be carried away by love? And where has that desire ever been expressed so wistfully and so well?
“I wanna fall through the clouds
To someplace where
The kissing never ever stops
I wanna spew little lightnings from my hands
So this shield that I got might explode
Another girl’s eyes got wet
I was a total fool
But what can I do?
They don’t shake my heart.”
From “Yucatan Gold”:
“She’s a crazy animal when she screams
But in my head I wanted this, it seems”
The title song is about finding the man who was his grandfather, deceased since Reitherman was only five, through personal items left behind. In other hands, this song could have been soppy and maudlin, the one you start to skip over, but instead you feel the joyful thrill of Reitherman’s discovery.
“We walked in the moonbeams there
It shook everything
And we filled up the vacant years,
I could hardly speak”
Aaron Goldman, Will Cone, Joe Syverson, Jarred Grimes make up the rest of the stage band. If I were able to go to SXSW, Throw Me the Statue would be on my Must-See List–absolutely. I give a hearty thumbs-up to this album. Every song is a jewel. You must have it!
Throw Me the Statue from Moonbeams (2008):
About To Walk
This Is How We Kiss
MySpace | Website | Label: Secretly Canadian Records | SXSW page
Buy CD, MP3s, or vinyl at Secretly Canadian Store, iTunes, eMusic
and Amazon MP3 Downloads and vinyl LP,
- alt-gramma (371)
- indie.mom (395)
- Uncle T (7)
My favorite lyric is “they were only there to break my toes”. You are right, Reitherman has a keen insight when it comes to writing lyrics.
I have had the opportunity to see these guys several times already, and they are stellar to say the least. I questioned how the songs on the album would tranlate to the stage. Turns out they have translated exceeding well. If these guys come to your town, do yourself a favor and check then out. In the meantime, do not miss Moonbeams, es muy bien.
March 15th, 2008 at 1:30 pm