4 is The Magic Numbers
As I type the brother / sister / brother / sister music combo, the Magic Numbers have just one more show to play on their current 22 date UK tour (Tunbridge Wells tonight). Wednesday is Norwich and they’re playing songs from their latest (and great) record ‘Outsiders’, released last month on the band’s very own Roleplay label.
It’s fair to say popularity wise, The Magic Numbers peaked on their first record, but sometimes a sideward step can focus the mind and in this day of the internet a sense of control can be good financially too.
It seems like they’re enjoying the sense of freedom you get when you can do what you want. From a musical perspective ‘Outsiders’ is a similar heady mix of Southern Americana and pop folk, but this time there is a definite sonic hardening. New tracks like ‘Ride Against The Wind’ (see below) and ‘Sweet Divide’ melt into a set list that include crowd pleasers, ‘Love Me Like You’ and ‘Forever Lost’ and exists (according to the band) only to be ignored.
They take and play requests from the floor, front man / Guitarist Romeo talks of collaborations with his six year old son and tonight the band, completed by sister, bass player Michele Stodart, Angela Gannon and Sean Gannon on drums are playing to the converted. Only a firm onstage show of support for Brexit could have dented any love directed towards them from the sold out crowd and then it would have only been just over half of them that disapproved.
Personally it’s impossible for me not to like a band that use Orange Amps, play Grammy award winning glockenspeils and cover Harvest Moon by Neil Young beautifully.
The banner behind the band says ‘This is our music, these are rebel songs, are you in or out?’. I’m in.
For more info visit http://smarturl.it/OutsidersTMN