The Magic Numbers is as enjoyable as is it seems to have been fun for the Stodarts and Gannons to make.  It works to reconcile the debates between pretentious music geeks and those who despise esoteric music reviews. Don't think too much about this album, just sit back, enjoy and soon you'll be "having too much fun" like Romeo Stodart is while singing "Long Legs."

"Do I listen to listen to pop music because I'm miserable, or am I miserable because I listen to pop music?" John Cusack sardonically asks in "High Fidelity". The Magic Numbers self-titled album rejects this sentiment, allowing listeners to rekindle their love with that significant other who only listened to sappy pop music. The Magic Numbers have come to reconcile these relationships, with an album that will become every music snob's not so guilty pleasure. The two brother and sister combos, The Stodards and the Gannons, make up this British pop band. The Magic Numbers is full of catchy, feel-good songs with a degree of complexity that could go unnoticed amongst the songs' addictive harmonies and pleasant guitar rifts.

The most appealing aspects of The Magic Numbers are the beautiful female harmonies that back up the affable voice of Romeo Stodart- he has a voice that was created to sing pop music. Whether on the album's rock singles like "Forever Lost" or on beautiful ballads like "I see you, You see me" this combination of voices is perfectly suited to sing about love and breakups. This album escapes the banality of most of its contemporaries in the pop rock genre not only because of its enticing harmonies, but a series of catchy guitar patterns that never resemble those on the previous track. The two sets of siblings add a smattering of accompanying sounds with violin, piano and playful banjos; they even implement the sound of clapping, clearly affirming their position in the pop genre. Each track is incredibly strong and unique despite trite lyrics; but what would pop music be without love songs? Due to the strength of each track, your favorite track really just depends on your mood. For me, the album shines on "love is Just a Game", a beautiful ballad where a simple guitar rhythm perfectly matches the bass and the harmonies that delicately sing "Love is just a game / Broken all the same / And I will get over you."

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars