The Magic Numbers at Rough Trade East

The Magic Numbers are a band who were seemingly swept up in the alternative indie scene five or so years ago, when their self-titled album and Those the Brokes successfully caught the attention of the British public, propelling them to the status of friendly mellow rockers. However, their lack of releases in more recent times means you would be forgiven for thinking they had broken up. We headed down to Rough Trade East on a drizzly London day to see if they still had an impressive enough live show to stage a comeback.

Rough Trade has the unique ability of offering live music fans a unique show experience, as the glitz and glamour is always left behind, leaving just the artist directly in front of you, warts and all. This is no exception tonight, with the band popping out before their set to tune their instruments. By the time the foursome appear properly a surprisingly large crowd has gathered and the lights are dimmed as they cheer out for their returning heroes. It’s clear from the opening tracks that The Magic Numbers are still a force of a live band, performing as if they were still at the peak of their powers. Sticking to newer tracks at the start of the set, a few technical issues were noticeable with some fuzzy speaker scratching but these problems were ironed out as the set progressed, hardly tainting the live experience.

The tunes from the new album are clearly the main reason for tonight’s gig – perhaps a dress rehearsal for bigger shows – and they are surprisingly polished, combing the band’s best talents of harmonic vocals and groovy musical jamming interludes. The standout song during the mellow set is Roy Orbison as it has a beautifully sombre tone that builds up to an exciting climax, perfectly highlighting the strengths of the band’s live performance.

Although The Magic Numbers may have lost some of their popularity over the years, tonight was a shining example that they can still hold their own when it comes to the live arena. Rough Trade have an incredible talent for conjuring up an intimate spectacle of a treat when it comes to live music and The Magic Numbers were no exception, bringing some sunshine to an otherwise dreary day.

Keir Smith

For further information about The Magic Numbers and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Shot in the Dark here: