Throw Me the Statue is one of the Pacific Northwest’s newer buzz bands and Creaturesque is one of the region’s offerings worth getting worked up about. Building on a formula not unlike that of their peers in The Shins, TMTS layers heady atmospherics under some powerful indie-pop. If it sounds like an equation not worth revisiting, consider songs like “Snowshoes” and “Tag,” which eschew more organic instrumentation in favour of electronic beats and muddy soundscapes. All the while, Scott Reitherman’s vocals (often falsetto) hang in the background to keep the songs rooted in strong melodies.
Creaturesque isn’t totally distinct from its regional counterparts, but it does set itself apart with how heavily it borrows from bygone days. Vintage Brit-pop abounds on “Pistols” and “Noises,” and classic Springsteen gets a turn on “Cannibal Rays.” “Dizzy from the Fall” — a sped-up homage to “Jessie’s Girl” — brings some levity to the proceedings and is Creaturesque’s central pop moment.
Despite how easy it is to pick up on Scott Reitherman’s influences, it doesn’t make Creaturesque any less charming. This is a great pop album, in the truest and least cynical sense of the word.
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