From their look and sound to their history and attitude, The Magic Numbers contradict most of the conventions that define the British obsession for next-big-thing-ism; at the moment, this is best exemplified by Arctic Monkeys, who have sold more than 100,000 copies of their debut album in two weeks with a guitar sound that takes the swaggering rock-star model to the next predictable level.
The Magic Numbers' sweet pop-rock is anti-swagger. Critics cite scads of influences with one thing in common: They all come from the 1960s. The quartet sounds like all these -- Lovin' Spoonful, CSNY, Mamas & Papas -- and none of them. They recapture the pop essence of the '60s, when fresh melodies seemed to grow on trees, without actually stealing anything -- a bigger accomplishment than it sounds. And they're 100 percent irony-free.
Singer-songwriter-guitarist Romeo Stodart and drummer Sean Gannon met in London and played with various bands for about seven years, gaining much in the way of experience but little in the way of advancement.