Throw Me the Statue

A friend told me she likes Throw Me the Statue because they remind her of Guided by Voices. That’s kind of odd: TMTS is a one-man project partial to drum machines, synths, and hushed vocals; GBV was sort of the Who of indie rock. But then, TMTS leader Scott Reitherman gets compared to a lot of bands, none of whom seem to relate to each other. Poke around on the web, and you’ll see him compared to the upbeat Shins, the melancholy Granddaddy, and the psychedelic Elephant 6 collective, along with references to lesser-known acts such as the Microphones and Dismemberment Plan. There’s something familiar about Reitherman’s sound, but it’s hard to place.

I get the feeling Reitherman likes it that way. “Yucatan Gold,” from last year’s home-recorded Moonbeams, starts off with a clattering drum machine and a squelchy-sounding synth, introduces a twee-sounding verse that conceals a macabre lyric, then abruptly turns to a creepy minor-key chorus. By the next song on the album, he’s sweetly singing, “This is how we kiss/ oh-oh-oh.” A couple of songs later he’s accompanied by lonely acoustic guitar and glockenspiels while he mopes about how anxious he gets around girls who put little hearts in their handwriting. (Note that he’s also got a song about someone named “Lolita” but makes sure to point out that she’s over 18.)

On this year’s Creaturesque, Reitherman has a much bigger, more professional sound (thanks in part to indie super-producer Phil Ek), and some of the homespun charm is gone. But Reitherman still has that strangely familiar quality that makes TMTS comfortable, even when he’s trying to creep you out.

The Brunettes also perform.

THROW ME THE STATUE: The Loft, Wednesday, September 16, 8 p.m. $10; UCSD student $8. 858-534-8497.