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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

The Magic Numbers
by The Magic Numbers


7.5

based on 24 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 74 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Those The Brokes

Official Artist Site

This debut disc showcases the 50s and 60s pop stylings and three-part harmonies of the pair of brother-sister duos (Romeo & Michelle Stodart and Sean & Angela Gannon) that make up The Magic Numbers.

LABEL:	Capitol / Heavenly
RELEASE DATE:	04 October 2005
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Pop

NOTES: Shortlisted for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. Original UK release 13 June 2005.

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

musicOMH.com

Nothing quite prepares you for the sheer beauty of The Magic Numbers' music.

100

Mojo

The Magic Numbers have made one of the records--perhaps the record--that 2005 is destined to be remembered for. [Jul 2005, p.110]

Drowned In Sound

A record that will endure beyond this year, this decade and the rest.

Neumu.net

The comparisons to the Mamas and the Papas are ultimately weak; there's a lot of blues mixed in with the folky pop, and traces of '80s British band Prefab Sprout, who also spun their troubles into melodic gold full of boy/girl harmonizing.

Entertainment Weekly

There are pretty, moody moments... but what unites them all is a cheery, zippy exuberance that is rare these days. [21 Oct 2005, p.75]

cokemachineglow

The Magic Numbers is one of the best pop albums of the year.

E! Online

There's a bit an identity crisis going on here, but fans of this stuff ought to fall under the Numbers' spell pretty darn fast.

New Musical Express

Gives up its delights slowly and not without a wry smirk along the way. [11 Jun 2005, p.66]

PopMatters

I am tempted to describe The Magic Numbers as the new Coldplay because they have in spades what originally made Coldplay so wonderful; that is, a complete lack of affectation and waves of translucent, warm vulnerability, along with hushed vocal lines that sink into your brain like hot ball bearings.

Blender

Resistance is useless. [Oct 2005, p.139]

The Guardian

It's classic pop, rejuvenated.

Uncut

Unlike the solar-powered efforts of The Thrills or The Polyphonic Spree, they understand, like The Beach Boys before them, that the best way to soundtrack a broken heart is to drench it in sunny three-part harmonies. [Jul 2005, p.102]

Q Magazine

If you can forgive them their fondness for epic arrangements, theirs is a debut to transport you to a gentler place. [Jul 2005, p.122]

Pitchfork

The songwriting falls a couple of times too many into timid generalities about love and loss; the melodies, though lovely, are sometimes interchangeable.

Los Angeles Times

It's entirely contrary to conventional CD construction and all the more appealing for being so. [2 Oct 2005]

ShakingThrough.net

While the lyrics tend toward the generic and vapid... the primary appeal of Magic Numbers is the lovely harmonizing.

Rolling Stone

Cheeseball preciousness weighs down slower numbers such as "This Love," but when they're firing on all cylinders, the Magic Numbers treat their record collections like Romeo treats the idea of true love: as a source of wide-eyed wonder and a reason to get out of bed.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

The album becomes increasingly hard to hold onto. The band gets lost in the feel of hippie-era California and forgets that the musicians they admire were skilled craftsmen as well as aesthetic adventurers.

No Ripcord

If you like the singles, you won’t be disappointed by The Magic Numbers, but you won’t be astounded either.

Filter

A charming if adolescent collection of bubblegum harmonies and none-too-complicated pop. [#17, p.101]

Slant Magazine

High, lovely harmonies notwithstanding, a good 15 minutes chopped could've meant the difference between merely being noticed and creating a minor masterpiece of nostalgia-infused pop.

Dot Music

Given their youth, it does indeed promise much, but please, hold off on that honours listing for a while yet.

Under The Radar

Pleasant enough.... but many [songs] fall short, and the constant harping about love... begins to wear thin. [#11, p.111]

All Music Guide

It all glides by easily enough on its surface, but dig a little deeper and The Magic Numbers reveals itself to be not just a crashing bore, but an irritating one.

The average user rating for this album is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 74 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

tim gave it a5:
Their average. I get this band confused with all the other B&S ripoffs of that era.

Angello C gave it a10:
showing us that music styles never expire, maybe it sounds like 60's but its perfect to take us away, specially today, when everybody with stress need it

Christina M gave it a10:
This album has something for everyone and every mood.

john c gave it a10:
What an album brilliant harmonies those guitars check them out live you wont regret it

Brett N gave it a7:
Easy to listen to but is that something to get so excited about some nice songs just not enough of them. Mornings Eleven, Forever Lost, This Love, Love's A Game

Simon G gave it a10:
Blows me away every time. I was sucked in by the Forever Lost single; was not disappointed by the album. Listen to it everyday. Love's a Game is the best one.

Geronimo H gave it a10:
This is the best album released in 2005, its highly original, cannot be compared to anything else. Its Highly original and refreshing, especially to release this kind of sound where everybody goes arctic monkey or coldplay shit....sweet sweet voice, great melodies, emotional, funny, and the best thing is the songs sound cheerfull where the lyrics are pretty depressing....now thats humour...gotta listen and listen again...

The Magic Numbers by The Magic Numbers

The Magic Numbers
by The Magic Numbers