Music Monday with PLC is a weekly feature written by my husband, Pat.
Find out the back story + check out the full archives HERE .
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The Magic Numbers
[photo by jennifer; review by pat]
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I had a teacher in high school that was a little different from the rest. A bit of the disheveled absent-minded professor type. Everybody has a bad day at work every now and then, and for those with the unsung job of being a high school teacher, their days can be a little worse. This was apparently his day. The class had done particularly poorly on a test and he let us have it. The rant went along these lines:
“Numbers are all around us, and we have to learn to use them because they are not going away. Even when we grow up and get a job, we will have to deal with numbers. Work in business: numbers. Become a janitor, and they give you one push broom, and that is numbers. All you kids walk around saying, “This sucks. That sucks.” Well, youuu suck. Come on get with it.”
At that point, he then went a little off the range, ranting about how he came home to find his wife on the couch with another woman. Like I said, everybody has a bad day every now and then. A few weeks later he was then made the school groundskeeper and allowed to retain his benefits. He seemed much more at peace working in the garden, and he was right: one rake is all you need, and that is numbers.
The Magic Numbers are a band out of England made up of two brother/sister sets who grew up neighbors in London, and they have a sound as easy as Sunday morning. Very laid back and very cool. And they put out this fantastic album with a great name: Those the Brokes (Heavenly Records, 2006). This one is their sophomore album (their third, The Runaway, was released in 2010 - but unless you are in England, is only available as an import), and it is filled with some great songs for the sensitive people, and the sensitive people in us all. They deftly bring in other elements to sweeten up the production (strings, piano, keyboard, melodica), but remain at their core a four-piece guitar band, and wisely choose to use organic over electronic instruments. It gives their music a timeless quality. And I do mean Quality.
Check out their stellar song “Take a Chance” -
The real strength of The Magic Numbers is in their harmonies, the blending of male and female voices trading off and then coming together. It adds a real human depth to their music. And that they are all family just adds a special bonus layer. One can imagine them singing together as kids, all their lives. It is true magic. (As an aside, I can’t help thinking how tough it must be for poor Barry Gibb. Now both of his brothers with whom he was able to make those legendarily awesome harmonies are gone. Damn. Silence. At least he still has the hair.)
Listen to “This is a Song”, and bow to Michele’s awesome bass work -
Last but certainly not least, The Magic Numbers are comfortable, confident and do their own thing. And they do not suffer fools lightly. When they were set to make their big debut on Top of the Pops, they were met with an introduction that took a cheap shot at their physical appearance. So they walked off the show. And right into my heart. Maybe yours too?
- PLC
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MORE:
- last week - Metric
- last month - Jack White
- last season - Real Estate
- full archive of Music Monday with PLC - HERE
