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The Magic Numbers
‘The Magic Numbers’ (EMI)
Much touted brother/sister/brother/sister combo The Magic Numbers
have been threatening a stunning debut album for some time now.
Threatening is probably the wrong word though, cos it is here, it
is stunning, and it is so immediate in its charms that it spreads
a smile on your face as easy as spreading marge on yer toast.
Their beardy-weirdyness (which I suspect includes the sisters as
well) makes the classic sound they create all the more intriguing.
This is ambitious stuff as well: opener ‘Mornings Eleven’
is ‘Good Vibrations’-like in its perfect pop construction
and different sections. Taking inspiration mostly from the sixties,
the songs on this record are steeped in melodic savvy. You can’t
fault any of the arrangements either – each track is a perfect
nugget full of quirky yet good ideas.
Sunshiney lyrics of love and loss prevail – “Don’t’
let the sun go down on me baby” and sentiments of that sort
on ‘Forever Lost’, the single, and ‘Love’s
a Game’. Torrents of mud and rain aside, The Magic Numbers
would have created their own mini heatwave at Glastonbury –
seldom have a band sounded so content, complete and downright happy,
it is almost suspicious how fully formed as a band they come across,
though they have been writing and playing together for years. Hats
off to them for that – you’d have thought that the two
sets of siblings would have torn each other apart by now.
‘Love Me Like You’ has glorious harmonies and backing
vocals and makes you want to be in an open top sports car heading
to the coast for a summer that will make you look back and weep
in your dotage. ‘I See You. You See Me’ takes a velvety
Velvet Underground intro and turns it into a gorgeous back and forth
hymn between the splendidly monikered Romeo Stodart and his sister.
The great tracks come thick and fast and it becomes like eating
too many sweets. To say that this is the album of the summer so
far isn’t really fair on the competition. The Magic Numbers
have dipped their guitars in treacle, their arrangements are the
most extravagant layer cake and the vocal harmonies are the richest
hot chocolate. There really isn’t a filler track, though if
there was it would be luxurious fondant filling. The finished article
is pretty awesome – perfect, perfect pop.
words: Roger Hadwen
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