Gig review: The Magic Numbers

THE Magic Numbers, symmetrically comprising two sets of brother and sister from West London, hit the ground running on their arrival a decade ago, a cheery and thoroughly likeable law unto themselves with their blithe and breezy bubblegum indie pop which made generous use of handclaps and harmony.

The Magic Numbers. Picture: PA

The Magic Numbers

THE GARAGE, GLASGOW

***

This recipe remained a winner with the buoyant crowd at this show, who reserved their greatest enthusiasm for the singles from their self-titled debut album, the wistful Forever Lost and the shoop-shooping Love Me Like You, which bowled along with a carefree momentum belying its rueful sentiment.

Frontman Romeo Stodart acknowledged as much with his wry reference to an overlooked track from “our classic underrated third album” but the four-piece have reserved the right to develop and their latest material from new album, Alias, resonated with an almost proggy indie folk ambience, much headier than the peachy-keen pop moments.

However, their predilection for a bittersweet nugget surfaced again with a cover of Skeeter Davis’s immaculately tragic The End Of The World, previously used to impress Neil Young on a recent tour, which showcased the tight three-part harmonies of Stodart, his sister Michele and keyboard player Angela Gannon, and during a massed encore rendition of Young’s own Harvest Moon, featuring members of support act The Goat Roper Rodeo Band which, despite all the competing cooks onstage, stayed true to the heart-tugging sway of the original.
Seen on 10.09.14