The Runaway - The Magic Numbers - Album Review
I remember when I first played The Magic Numbers (by that I mean their first album). I remember where I bought it as well, and I can remember times afterwards when I had it on or had certain songs on. Not least because Forever Lost is in an episode of Scrubs, but aside from that, it was a really good album, under-rated when it came out and still to this day. When next album Those the Brokes was released just a year later and managed to be better and catchier, you knew that this band was on to something.
So, where to with album #3? TTB implied that the band were going for a more mainstream yet still palatable sound, one which would get them the recognition that they deserved but whilst still retaining the base of their sound, charming guitar melodies with two singing voices which compliment each other perfectly, which isn't bad considering they're of opposite gender. Both Romeo Stodart and Angela Gannon's voices manage to take some of the darkest material that can go into songs (especially on The Runaway) and make it sound beautiful. The Runaway utilises both of their voices to perfection and to be frank, it has to. That they both seem to believe what they're singing about feels like the only reason to carry on listening to most of this album, which is a real shame, given what they've shown they were capable of. Some of the songs seem to be better suited to read as poems, the emotions you can feel from reading them don't seem to come across when you hear them played.
From lead single and lead song The Pulse, you knew that this album was going to be more low-tempo than the others were. What you didn't know was just how drastic a departure it would be, as after listening to this album, I honestly can't pick out any great moments. There are brief flashes of brilliance, The Pulse is probably the best example of the albums work, and Throwing My Heart Away provides a pretty strong reason for Angela Gannon to take lead vocals, but that's about it. It's all very lovely to listen to, but unless you're the kind of person who live in a constant state of serenity, then I can't think of a reason to keep listening to this. It sounds like the kind of bland, innocuous songs you get as hold music when you phone up some obscure government office. That or the kind of thing that gets played in dentists room's where you still sit in a wooden chair (I don't have to worry about this, my dentist's a child of the 80's, he had INXS on
the last time I was there).
The Magic Numbers are a band I have always championed. Despite never having any huge popularity, they still have a strong fanbase, mainly comprised of people who can listen to albums in full and appreciate the fact that all members of bands should play an instrument, apart from a lead singer. I always thought that if they kept building on the material that was in their first two albums, they could eventually get the success that they seemed to warrant. With The Runaway however, i'm unsure. Is this just a difficult third album, or is it the beginning of a fade into an obscurity that Snow Patrol circa 2002 would be ashamed of? I hope that there's another album in 2011, which gets back to showcasing what The Magic Numbers are really able to do.
Oh, and there's a bonus track from the soundtrack to one of those gay Twilight films. For shame, I sincerely hope that the record company made them do that, and it wasn't their choice.
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Next Week, The Suburbs, by Arcade Fire. I really feel I should listen to Funeral before that, but we'll see what happens
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