The perfect antidote to cynical rehashes of 80s music performed by pretty boys and girls styled to within an inch of their lives.
The perfect antidote to cynical rehashes of 80s music performed by pretty boys and girls styled to within an inch of their lives.
The Magic Numbers have been attracted so much attention that they hardly need an introduction. Being groomed for the top in a big way by Heavenly/EMI, two sets of cuddly brothers and sisters, lots of hair, high-profile support slots and trademark boy-girl harmonies designed to melt the iciest of hearts.
Their eponymous debut album will divide people into two camps. Some will find it a little too sickly sweet and one paced but if the reaction at Incendiary Towers is anything to go by, most will recognise an album stacked full of gorgeous, melancholic melodies which are even more addictive than Tetris. It’s the kind of rare album where you will play it in the evening and wake up the next morning humming a chorus.
Album opener Mornings Eleven starts out like the Who but quickly settles into an infectious country inflected groove that sets the tone for the rest of the album. As befits a man called Romeo, his songs cover the universal themes of love and loss. Sample lyrics chosen at random: "Looks like it all went wrong," "All my life I’ve hurt the ones I love," "Wish I was in a suitcase on my way back home to you," and "Love is just a lie, it happens all the time." You get the picture – even Patsy Cline would be dabbing her eyes with a gingham handkerchief.
The Magic Numbers is the soundtrack for the summer punctuated with heart wrenching bitter-sweet melodies, great guitar playing, fantastic voices as well as the odd melodica and glockenspiel break. Definitely a sunny Sunday morning record, perhaps even destined to replace REM’s Everybody Hurts as the record most played after an emotional break up.
The influences are obvious and clearly worn on their sleeves. We’re guessing the Magic Numbers spent a lot of their formative years swotting up on records older than them – Bob Dylan, the Band, Beach Boys, Nick Drake, Mama and the Papas, Free Design etc. Other influences are there if you listen out – Johnny Marr’s guitar style (especially on The Mule), Lambchop and even a bit of Prefab Sprout. Critics may say this all sounds very unoriginal but the album is packed with a consistent level of top tunes (even down to rare early single Hymn for Her which squirreled away as a secret track at the end.)
What else is there to say? If you read this and it doesn’t sound like your thing, it probably isn’t. For everyone else, this is a time to actually believe the hype. A West Coast pop album that is both refreshing and intelligent. The perfect antidote to cynical rehashes of 80s music performed by pretty boys and girls styled to within an inch of their lives.
Make a note to buy this album as soon as possible and definitely make the effort to try and catch the joyful experience that is the Magic Numbers performing live.
Words: John Cottrill.