The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers Album Review

The band you never wanted to like. With all the subtle and not so subtle hype surrounding this band, its evident that regardless of what their music sounds or doesnt sound like, they take the cake (and i betcha they eat it too) for the undisputed unconested ugliest band of the millenium! All your visual sense tell you to steer clear of this band, until you put that circle object into your audio playing device or rip it off the net to save money... god knows you dont need the pictures to burn your eyes and you only need to use your 1980's scrabble board to reincarnate the front cover.

But once their sound hits your eyes, its instant feel good jives and sweet british pop hooks sooth the soul from the crunches and crunks of mudvayne and lil jon! The opening track "Morning Eleven" introduces our ears to the magic numbers with suitable delivery, infectious and feel good mixed with varying tempo and shoodooobeeedooo backing vocals spurring a sing-a-long- to rival hands across america, almost taking the listener through the ups and downs of a fleeting 5 and a half minute romance. One nods their head in approval, but would not necessarily break out into full blown Andre 3000 danceathon.

The highlights of this cd are really relative to what aspect of The Magic Numbers your looking to love... the pure infection and rational abandon of "Love me like you" & "Forever Lost" are extremely difficult to overlook as clear winners, the hillbilly tappin of "Mornings Eleven" & "Long Legs" or the delicate ballading of "I see you, You see me". In every song, the vocals and sheer harmony take centre stage with frontman Romeo obviously a clear stand out, however in this writers opinion, it is the diversity and groove cultured by the skillful basswork by Michele is a cornerstone for the success of the Magic Numbers, "Love me like you" a definitive example and a true triumphant inspiration to all feminine bassists that you are allowed to be creative and use your brain when constructing basslines.

If you big enough to admit listening to this love ridden happiness, it is a quality cd lacking any filler tracks with careful consideration given to song structure and a firm cuddling emphasis on melody.

The Magic Numbers are not so much dynamic or vibrant as they are nice and comfortable, no fancy NME buzz words required. Tearing down the hype and facades, replacing them with common sense and rationality still leaves the Magic Numbers a 1,2,3,4 success, provided they continue making records and avoid going outdoors where others can see them.