The Magic Numbers
The Magic Numbers

(Capitol)

First Appeared in The Music Box, December 2005, Volume 12, #12

Written by T.J. Simon

Shades of David Gray, Belle & Sebastian, The Polyphonic Spree, and The Mamas & the Papas permeate the self-titled debut from the London foursome known as The Magic Numbers. The band consists of dual sets of brothers and sisters – Romeo & Michele Stodart and Angela & Sean Gannon — and Romeo handles lead vocals and the lion’s share of the songwriting on the outing, which is full of both high and low points. Classic rock, old-school soul, and ’60s-imbued sunshine pop form the basis of the group’s music, and during the early portion of the effort — most notably on Mornings Eleven and The Mule — his creative style of composition resembles an unplugged version of Kings of Leon. Elsewhere, shimmering pop reigns supreme on Forever Lost, and things get genuinely soulful on Love’s a Game and Don’t Give Up the Fight.

Unfortunately, the better moments on The Magic Numbers is contrasted with some lame, sappy and decidedly unremarkable selections, such as Wheels on Fire, Which Way to Happy, and Hymn for Her. In addition, Romeo Stodart’s voice is marginal at best, though it’s dressed up nicely by his female bandmates, and their contributions often go beyond those of mere background accompanists. The Magic Numbers’ lyrics are also rather weightless and devoid of any real content. Long Legs, for example, superficially is a very catchy tune until it occurs to the listener that Stodart isn’t singing about much of anything. As such, the entire album is a bit like cotton candy in that it tastes good, but ultimately isn’t terribly filling. In the end, however, there are enough memorable moments to make the effort worthwhile. ½

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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2005 The Music Box