Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magic Indeed, November 30, 2005
This disc is nearly perfect. Great songwriting, indelible hooks, awesome vocal arrangements, and just enough je ne sais quoi to keep things from getting too sweet. There are a number of new bands that are wearing their SoCal pop influences on their sleeves, but this is the one you want. Hal, The Thrills, and especially dios (malos) come close, but these guys understand the difference between being influenced by a particular style and mimicry. I listen to this more than any disc released this year and never tire of it. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes great harmonies, and great pop music.
As an aside to "radical hippy"...since when have angst and darkness been a prerequisite to decent songwriting? I suggest you change your "prescription", and give this another listen.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Magic Music, March 27, 2006
Wow! It's so refreshing to hear this kind of music. It's thoughtful, musically interesting, and playful. There is a throwback kind of sound they have, like the music was hand-made if that makes sense. They play classic rock instruments and what sounds like little or no synthesizers. I got teh feeling I was listening to a band (a very good band) in their garage jamming for the pure joy it gives them. These are songs that mean something to them. They probably wrote them all themselves.
The only downside to the album is that all the joy and frivolity gets mired in a few too many morose songs in the second half.
If you're looking for something different from most everything else out there right now, you probably can do no better than The Magic Numbers.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magic Debut!, August 20, 2005
The Magic Numbers comprises two pairs of brother/sister siblings from the UK with a sound that hearkens back to the sunny, upbeat, melodic sound of the 60s. They remind me of The Mamas and the Papas, The Beach Boys, and more recently, The Thrills.
Their sound is a folk/pop/rock sound with real instruments and richly interwoven harmonies, a real delight to the ear.
`Forever lost' is a typical example; sunny upbeat song with racing jangly guitars, which belies the somber nature of the lyrics which deal with heartbreak.
Other standouts are the equally upbeat `Love me like you', and the excellent mellow guitar ballad 'Love's a game' with excellent harmonies.
Great to find music with great catchy melody, clever lyrics, and little or no gimmicks. An outstanding debut, and another great find from the UK.
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