AMG Review of Moonbeams

Jason Lymangrover
All Music Guide

Easily comparable to more than a few West Coast indie poppers -- Beulah, the Shins, and Grandaddy, to name some -- Throw Me the Statue stack drum machines, synths, and dime-store instruments on top of sunshiny melodies to bring the sound of California to Seattle. Moonbeams is a bedroom recording through and through, and while multi-instrumentalist Scott Reitherman is an idolizer of lo-fi aesthetics and the Microphones in particular, he successfully layers the hell out of his tracks to make the album a full-sounding and lush production, pairing live instrumentation with synthetic tones and beats. A few guests aid Reitherman and his Dr. Groove rhythm machine in his creative endeavor to create a bright, shimmering ray of musical goodness that's perfect for springtime driving or backyard gardening. Like the Dismemberment Plan's Travis Morrison, as a vocalist Reitherman teeters between speaking and singing lazily, as he confesses stories from his lovelorn past, lackadaisically explaining how he stole his best friend's girl in "Young Sensualists" and his undying lust for the innocent embrace of a 19-year-old in "Lolita." It's simple, it's sincere, it's upbeat, it's effortless, and most of all it's very pleasant, making for an ambitious first outing and a cozy fit under the gentle, embracing wing of Secretly Canadian. If listeners experience a sense of déjà vu, it's probably just because they're hearing the ghosts of Elephant 6, sighing.