The Magic Numbers: The Mamas and The Papas for XXI century

A day after their triumphant appearance - and they don’t do ‘em any other way - at the Parthenon of Hippiedom that is Isle of Wight Festival, The Magic Numbers’ self-titled albums hits the stores. And, it is mostly as sunny as one would expect it to be in on the British Riviera and other seaside locales.

The Magic Numbers are a feelgood band with heavenly harmonies and melodies. This two sets of sister-brother units manage to combine West Coast psychedelia with Beach Boys-esque harmonies with added infusion of blues, folk and country of early Americana. In general, they are like The Mamas And The Papas mixed with Fairport Convention and T-Rex…

The scope of their music is staggeringly retro but also timeless, pastoral as well as festival-sized. They‘ve been tipped as the band of the Summer season and don‘t be surprised if their album is still ranked high by the time school year restarts. The choice of songs here is wide and each a potential gem.

Such as the previous single ‘Forever Lost’, the sparsely intimate ‘Wheels On Fire’, the compelling harmonies on songs such as ‘Long Legs’ and ‘Love Me Like You’… Most of these songs already sound like the certifiable crowd-pleasers. And it appears they tapped into the period’s spirit with an incredible sense for the vibe o’ the times.

These are kaleidoscopic songs that have been inspired by a number of location influences, some sort of geography of sounds. The Magic Numbers are set around the songwriting/guitaring/singing Romeo: born and raised in Trinidad (where his mother had her own opera show on TV) the family moved to New York when he was a teenager and later moved again to Ealing in London. There he met drummer Sean and started making music.

Completing the core line-up are Romeo's equally talented sister Michele on bass and vocals, while Sean's sister Angela takes care of percussion, melodica and third vocals. Drawing inspiration from many sources - singer-songwriters (Cohen, Dylan), 60's harmony groups (Mamas & Papas, Lovin Spoonful), epic rock of such mavericks as CSN&Y - the band create songs that, alike Flaming Lips or Beck, come from everywhere but are distinctively own kind.

Despite their dress sense and hairstyles that any the 1970s hipsters would have avoided, The Magic Numbers have also been nominated for the Mojo Best New Act Award. The first mag to recognize them as - classic-in-the-making?

It’s only the beginning…

8/10

Tour dates below:

17 June - Hultsfred festival, Sweden (Teater Tent)
26 June - John Peel stage, Glastonbury Festival
08 July - Bulletproof, Newcastle
09 July - T in the Park, Scotland
10 July - Oxegen, Ireland
14 July - Homeless Charity event for Rough Trade, Covent Garden, London
31 July - Fuji Rock, Japan
06 August - Haldern, Germany
12 August - Oya, Norway
13 August - Summer Sundae, Leicester
20-21 August - V Festival
23 August - Academy 2, Liverpool
24 August - Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh
26 August - Roadmenders, Northampton
09 September - Bestival, Isle of White
04 October - Metropolitan University, Leeds
05 October - QMU, Glasgow
07 October - University, Sheffield
08 October - Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton
09 October - University, Cardiff
11 October - Brooks University, Oxford
12 October - Junction, Cambridge
13 October - Pyramid, Portsmouth
15 October - Rock City, Nottingham
16 October - Waterfront, Norwich
18 October - Shepherds Bush Empire, London
21 October - University, Reading
22 October - University, Bristol
23 October - Academy 2, Manchester