4 to Watch: Throw Me The Statue

Hometown: Seattle, Wash.
Members: Scott Reitherman (pictured; vocals, guitar, keys), Joseph Syverson (bass), Jarred Grimes (drums), Aaron Goldman (keys), Will Cone (guitar).
Fun fact: The band’s name was the title of a mixtape Reitherman once made for a girl. “The name came from a free association based on the little clipping that I had cut out to be the cover,” he says.
Why they’re worth watching: The band’s self-released debut, Moonbeams, is getting a wider release through hip indie Secretly Canadian.
For fans of: Magnetic Fields, Guided By Voices, Spoon

Scott Reitherman says his previous band Flag Signs “imploded” before finishing its first recording sessions. Taking control, Reitherman decided to make an album on his own under the moniker Throw Me The Statue. “I could count on myself to finish something,” he says.

There’s no tape hiss, but Throw Me The Statue’s debut, Moonbeams, has the intimacy of a homemade recording. Primitive beats and synths give some of Reitherman’s sprightly pop songs an electronic flavor, though ringing guitar riffs or strummed acoustic chords are never far away. Reitherman cut rhythm tracks at the studio of Casey Foubert (Sufjan Stevens), then continued the project in his bedroom, using low-tech keyboards. “When you’re talking about an old cheap Yamaha keyboard or an old clunker Casio,” Reitherman says, “you don’t really have a million things to work with, and I like that.”

After finishing the album, Reitherman, who also runs the Baskerville Hill label, recruited four friends to complete TMTS’ lineup. When Secretly Canadian expressed interest, he assured the label he had an actual group capable of touring. “I told them, ‘Don’t worry, it’s a band. It’s not just me getting up there.’”

Reitherman’s songs draw on his personal experiences, and the lyrics are often cryptic, with references to “the friendship castle” and lions disguised as girls, as well as some inside jokes sure to fly over the heads of most listeners. “If you get it,” he says, “you share a wink or a smile with the person who wrote it.”