When I first took a look at the liner notes of the Magic Numbers debut, I assumed that the group was comprised of two married couples - Romeo and Michele Stodart and Sean and Angela Gannon. The photos inside depict them all acting quite affectionate and so forth, so imagine my surprise when I learned in kind of a quasi-White Stripes twist, that they're actually two sets of siblings. No they're not trying to parlay the affair into some sort of publicity stunt (ala. Jack and Meg) actually it's all as simple and innocent as the unaffected and charming music that they make. In fact just about everything related to this endlessly fascinating new band is folksy and refreshing.

Having made a sizable splash (no this is not a pun aimed at the band's rather robust physicality) for themselves in a rather short span of time - by dint of nothing more than constant touring and wildfire word-of-mouth - the Magic Numbers are fairly poised on the brink of success as enormous as their appetites. (I'm sorry but the combined weight of the "flab four" has got to be flirting with half a ton). I know I'm really starting to sound rude now, but I point this out because I think it's cool. For a magic number of reasons. There's something about their girth that makes them all the more sexy, and I just like the fact that in our bulimic culture, these four are making it happen because of their talent, and something even more intangible than just that - call it the Mama Cass effect (there is a Mamas and Papas dynamic to their music) but whatever it is, everybody's diggin' it - and that's both sexy and cool.

Their debut album is such a wondrous an unexpected treat that the best compliment I can offer it, is that when you wake up in the morning, no matter what kind of crummy day you might be in for, you can still muster up some happiness in the knowledge that at least you're going to be able to listen to this album in your car stereo wherever the day may take you. You also just know deep down if you were friends with these guys two years ago - maybe going to see some of their earlier gigs, that they'd still be good friends with you now and no matter how successful they become, you'll always be met with a warm smile and be welcome to stay for dinner

Romeo is the prime mover of the band, a wonderful songwriter who pens songs that revolve around lost love, desperation, heartache, etc., set to a mixture of intoxicating styles - some fragile and melancholy and others alive with a poppy jangle. On track four "Long Legs" the most flippant song on the record he displays some awesome guitar chops - laying off prodigious flat-picked leads that remind of the Meat Puppets Curt Kirkwood. Despite his genial grizzly bear like appearance he possesses a voice that's decidedly thin and high-pitched, with kind of a scratchy Graham Parker feel. But backed as he is by Michelle and young Angela sometimes in harmony and often in "sha shas" and "oo lahs" and "doo wops" the vocal sound is consistently rich and warm.

The following track "Love Me Like You Do" smacks quite closely of one of Fleetwood Mac's up-tempo classics, propelled in large part by Michelle's plucky and vibrant bass-lines. Her bass playing is a constant source of amazement throughout. You'll fall in love with little sis Angela on the heart-stopping ballad "I See You, You See Me." Trading vocals with Romeo she stuns with her ability to convey the heartbreak of the story-line. She also contributes to the organic sound with her tasteful melodica offerings - as do both Romeo and Michelle on piano and keyboards. I need to mention Sean Gannon, their wonderfully tasteful drummer who is always so perfectly in the pocket that you never notice him. A high compliment in my book. Speaking of my book the picture of him in the upper right hand corner of the cover is such a dead ringer for the picture I chose of myself for the cover of my book that it's really kinda weird.

Just in case you were wondering if an indie band like this is all retro sixties and seventies, they definitely bring and indie sensibility to everything they do. Probably best exemplified by track nine "This Love" showing off their most complex arrangement and gently guided throughout by a mournful violin - it reminds me of a hybrid of the Shins and Belle and Sebastion.

They really let their roots show the most on the country-inflected "Wheels on Fire." If you close your eyes when you listen you can picture Graham Parsons and Emmylou Harris plain as day. From everything I've read about their live performances, it's not too far fetched to imagine these guys developing a Grateful Dead kind of following. All the pieces are in place - the family affair, the folk-rock/country approach, mixed with a hairy, bearded bear of thin-voiced imaginative guitar player who can rock - hey the world could use it. Phish is the one that got away? As good as this album is, the word is that in concert they produce transcendental states and vibes so big and beautiful that you could trip over one. I can't wait to see these guys live, and I'm planning on wearing tie-dye. Spread the word - let's do this.