The Magic Numbers
Outsiders

“Outsiders are how we have always felt, both as a band and as individuals. We have never truly measured up. Even when things rapidly escalated and we found ourselves at some award ceremony, we always felt stuck. It was the time of indie bands like The Strokes and The Libertines - and then we stood up there“

The Magic Numbers have always felt a bit like "Outsiders" (the title of their new, fifth album), even when they seemed destined for far greater popularity than what they eventually garnered. It was 2005, and their self-titled debut album hit the British top ten, sold well, produced a radio hit (even here in Italy) with the splendid "Love's A Game" and was even nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly and yet, even though the quality of their subsequent albums always ranged from adequate to excellent, the public response was no longer the same. Eventually, the band decided to take a four-year break before returning with this new album. An album that marks a significant change in the band's sound, no longer devoted to acoustic or semi-acoustic delicacies (or at least not solely), but firmly decided to electrify their offering without betraying themselves.

And that's where the magic lies: Romeo and his companions manage the epic feat of not betraying their origins and sonic trademark while acquiring a composed sonic aggressiveness thus far foreign to the British quartet. This intention is made clear already by the lead single "Sweet Divide", a scarce five and a half minutes of pure electric period Neil Young, and the T-Rex-style razor-sharp "Shotgun Wedding", a truly amazing opener. The second single "Ride Against The Wind" finds a good balance between delicacy and incisiveness.

"Runaways" weaves a layered arrangement on a fabric akin to certain Fleetwood Mac works and elegantly leaps between night and day, while in the second part of the album, we find a more canonical Numbers (the Roy Orbison of "Dreamer", a "Power Lines" that seems to recall certain orchestral fascinations of the first - and last - Richard Ashcroft solo work pairing it with a surprising trombone, and an ethereal and essential "Lost Children").

A great return, this of the Magic Numbers. Perhaps it's not a bad thing that they remain one of the best-kept secrets of English rock, if time will preserve them for us in this way.

Best track: "Runaways"