In an odd way, Outsiders is an ideal moniker for the Magic Numbers, who started their career in 2005 as a U.K. sensation but settled down to a cult act by the time they released their fifth album in 2018. Opening with a big blast of glam -- "Shotgun Wedding" wears its debt to Marc Bolan proudly -- Outsiders proceeds to balance the loud with the dreamy, alternating the two extremes not with desperation but affection. More than a decade into their career, the Magic Numbers remain unapologetic acolytes of classic pop and rock, shunning anything that happened after punk but happily embracing all the byways of the British Invasion and its fallout. These obsessions were evident on the quartet's debut, but the Magic Numbers pull off the rare trick of being looser, louder, and better on their fifth record than they were on their first. Maybe it's because they've absorbed the language so thoroughly that they no longer sweat about their place in the pantheon. They'll pull jokes, riff with glee, and sigh with sweetness, emphasizing songcraft without seeming fussy. That latter quality is what elevates Outsiders: the Magic Numbers may be pop troubadours but they also realize pop should sound ephemeral. Consequently, Outsiders has a strong foundation but sounds effervescent, a combination that frequently results in giddy, intoxicating pop, which is what this album is.
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