Those the Brokes [ENHANCED]

The Magic Numbers

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 17, 2007)
• Original Release Date: November 6, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B000R7I2JW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #23,868 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk
The second album from the Magic Numbers, Those the Brokes, finds this hirsute UK foursome-–comprised of two brother/sister pairs, Michele and Romeo Stodart with Angela and Sean Gannon--expanding on the florid, harmonic pop vision showcased on their Mercury Music Prize-nominated 2005 debut. Importantly, it doesn't just mimic that album's most obvious tricks--or, indeed, the tricks of their forefathers (The Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas). Indeed, these 13 tracks often find the Magic Numbers eschewing straightforward breezy sing-alongs for more complex outings that boast a more nuanced understanding of shade and space, or hide firm, beating hearts underneath their diaphanous pop exteriors. Oh, OK, the opening "This Is a Song" prances along at a fleet-footed tempo, all lilting, interlocking voices and tumbling guitars. But "Take a Chance" comes on like a candy-flavoured Sonic Youth, breathy harmonies hiding choppy guitar crunch, while "Undecided"--a mid-album delight that sees Angela take the microphone for a bruised, bluesy paean to breaking up and making up-–boasts the sort of vintage soul muscle that few, to date, have given the Magic Numbers credit for. Time to reconsider. --Louis Pattison

Product Description
The Magic Numbers are back with Those The Brokes, the stunning follow-up to their critically praised, self-titled debut. With the luxury of being able to revisit and remodel the album, released in the UK late last year, The Magic Numbers now offer up a superior, revised and re-sequenced US version of Those The Brokes. By forgoing the ballad-heavy leaning of the UK track listing in favor of a better paced, more varied tempo song mix, this US version of Those The Brokes provides the most engaging presentation yet of The Magic Number's extraordinary heartwarming guitar-pop whose fan club includes Noel Gallagher and Brian Wilson as members.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I love you best, July 16, 2007

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Longing and broken love, played in uptempo indiepop and wistful ballads.

That's what the Magic Numbers played in their self-titled debut, and that's what they play in their sophomore album "Those the Brokes" -- painful, prettily sparkling pop music. It would have benefited from a song or two being trimmed off, but the English quartet sound more polished and assured.

It opens with gentle glockenspiel and a murky guitar melody, before blooming out into a sprightly little pop tune. "I don't wanna tell her/No don't want to tell her/I lie awake in the dark/Lost in the beat of my heart," Romeo Stodart sings mournfully. "And if it hurts me baby you know why/I go it alone/Hurt me baby if you like/It's already gone..."

It's a bit too pop, I have to admit. But they embrace a more sweeping, catchy melody in the layered "You Never Had It," with some squiggle synth and ringing guitar riffs. From there, they try out all sorts of pop music: peppy dancey stuff, mellow bouncy tunes, some fun alt-rock, folk-edged string melodies, and meditative little ballads, ending with the folksy, fond "Goodnight."

If "Those the Brokes" has a flaw, it's that it's about two songs too long. But on a musical level, it's a great combination -- like Camera Obscura, the two brother-sister pairs meld the mournful, wistful, achy lyrics encapsulated in shimmering, smooth pop confections. You're sad, but still the music is a bit uplifting.

Those melodies are spun out of some solid guitars (both solidly acoustic and blurrily cycling), some undulating basslines and drums for the basic beats. But they're also dressed up in some extra instrumentation -- melodica, weeping strings, some really exquisite glockenspiel tinkling, and what sounds like a trumpet in "Undecided." It's much the same as in their first album, but here it's deeper, smoother and more layered.

Siblings Romeo and Michelle Stodart provide most of the vocals, and they both have mellow, full-bodied voices that can be either mournful, or sprightly (depending on the tune). They mainly sing about loves lost or broken, with writing that's solid but not exceptional just yet: "What you gonna do when she turns around/And says you broke another heart that was broken down/It's a crying shame, that the love you've made/Is a cross that you bear when it's cold..."

"Those the Brokes" is a solid, polished second album, and expands on the sound that the Magic Numbers crafted in their debut -- an enjoyable pop album full of woe.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My new favorite group!!!, November 29, 2006

By	Full iPod "Full iPod" (Birmingham) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Those the Brokes (Audio CD)

I've been looking for something different and refreshing and have found the magic number! I just bought both Those The Brokes as well as their 2005 release and find both excellent. Looking at some of the other album reviews, they have been referred to as lost 60's group and compared to the Mama's and Papa's. Although there are similarities; brothers and sisters, two men and two women, I think they are unique and very much worth your time and money. Highly recommended. You can't go wrong. These guys have tremendous natural songwriting abilities.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uplifting the typical, February 7, 2009

By	IRate - See all my reviews

3 1/2

The album looses a little steam about halfway through, opting for a slower section which the band doesn't dazzle with quite as much as a first side of upbeat numbers, but altogether this is a good example of how a few modifications to a tried and true indie-pop format can breathe urgency back into the compositions.