Throw Me The Statue
Moonbeams

[Secretly Canadian; 2008]

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Styles: chamber pop, pop-rock, precious indie rocker type shite
Others: The Magnetic Fields, Eels, Little Wings, The Shins, Belle and Sebastian, Jicks, Wilco, Cansecos, Band of Horses
Links: Throw Me The Statue - Secretly Canadian

Alright, so maybe it’s time to prize originality a little less exclusively. There are too many bands like Blank Dogs or A Place To Bury Strangers putting out exceptional material that’s openly, unhesitatingly derivative. Though Throw Me The Statue sound like an infinite amount of OC Soundtrack-ready indie rock out there, they’re definitely charming. With Moonbeams, they’ve put together some pretty, ornate songs that are hard not to like. If you appreciate lithe, bittersweet pop rock, then you’re sure to enjoy this.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for music that’s so instantly appealing, having no choruses or strident hooks (the triumphant “About To Walk” is an exception). It just kinda bobs along like an electro-infused Neutral Milk Hotel record without the sand. You have to hate how perfectly piqued every idiosyncratic vocal tic is. It just feels incredibly calculated to press pre-designated listener faction buttons. It’s professional second-tier pop-rock (it’d be mainstream if it were still the ‘80s) that’s bound to set toes tapping no matter what I write here.

So, go ahead let your inner music nerd twist in the wind while you fall prey to this undoubtedly infectious big kidz bop. There are worse things. But charming as this stuff is, it’s far from being truly notable. In the end, Moonbeams is just too precious, too stuffy and too frigging uno--- DAMMIT!

1. Young Sensualists 2. Lolita 3. A Mutinous Dream 4. Your Girlfriend’s Car 5. Conquering Kids 6. About To Walk 7. Yucatan Gold 8. This is How We Kiss 9. Groundswell 10. Written in Heart Signs, Faintly 11. Take It Or Leave It 12. Moonbeams 13. The Happiness Man On This Plane