This Tuesday, Seattle indie-rock outfit Throw Me the Statue will release their sophomore album, Creaturesque—not only a gently persuasive follow-up to their 2008 debut, Moonbeams, but hands down one of the best local releases of 2009. The music is poppy and catchy, the lyrics are knotty and cryptic, and the contrast makes for some of the most richly rewarding songwriting to come out of this city in a long time. You couldn't ask for a better way to hear the new album than sprawled out on the Seattle Center lawn beneath the slanting evening sun. (Mural Amphitheatre, Seattle Center, 684-7200. 6 pm, free, all ages.)