Indie outfit Magic Numbers made a name for themselves when they were nominated for the Mercury Prize eight years ago with their self-titled debut album.
Their long-awaited fourth album Alias was released this week and the group showcased some of the tracks at last weekend鈥檚 V Festival in Weston Park, Staffordshire.
Singer and guitarist Romeo Stodart, who wrote and produced most of the album, had been anxious for other people to hear it, given that the writing of it has taken place over the past three years.
During that time the 36-year-old frontman became a dad and he admits that has transformed his life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a real life-changer in the most positive way,鈥 he says of his son, also called Romeo in something of a Stodart family tradition. 鈥淗e鈥檚 made my life so much more meaningful, really. I was lost before.鈥
A lot of Alias was written before Romeo Jr鈥檚 birth, and deals with the break-up of a long-term relationship and 鈥渄arkness鈥 that followed.
鈥淚鈥檝e been dealing with my own crap for ages,鈥 Romeo admits. 鈥淭here鈥檚 this sort of inner turmoil, as it were. I don鈥檛 want this in any way to come across like I think I鈥檓 the only person experiencing this, or the only person that鈥檚 trying to figure out what their life means,鈥 he adds. 鈥淲hat I have noticed, in writing the album and now talking about it to friends and in interviews, is that getting all this out has been a very good thing. You just let out what鈥檚 inside when you鈥檙e writing, but afterwards you can reflect on it all. I think that鈥檚 reflected in the album鈥檚 title, too.鈥
He says for so long music was his life. He and his sister Michele, the group鈥檚 bassist, were born in Trinidad in the Caribbean, where their mother was an opera singer and had her own TV show. They left just before a coup in 1990, and headed for New York. By the time Romeo was 16 and Michele was 10, they鈥檇 relocated to London where they鈥檝e lived ever since. It was there that they made friends with another brother and sister pair, Sean and Angela Gannon, and started playing music.
By 2002, they鈥檇 become The Magic Numbers and began playing gigs. Their harmony-heavy music, jangling guitars and interesting family story soon won them a cult following, and they were pursued by a number of record labels.
鈥淚鈥檇 wanted it for so long and when things actually happened with the band it was amazing,鈥 says Romeo. 鈥淏ut then there was this huge void that grew and grew. We鈥檙e all searching for something, I know I was. We鈥檙e all looking for this idea of contentment and I鈥檝e come to realise those moments are fleeting. It can鈥檛 be that every day feels amazing.
鈥淐oming to terms with myself is a really difficult thing, and so often I鈥檒l do something that totally contradicts that idea, but I鈥檓 getting there,鈥 he continues. 鈥淭his record is about me working through all of that.鈥
The leisurely pace of making Alias definitely helped. With no label or management watching over them, and no deadline imposed, there was very little pressure.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been important to step away from everything that goes with being in a band,鈥 he says. 鈥淔or all of us, we have to live outside the band. It also means we can put life experience into our music. We鈥檝e all been doing other things, too, other projects, family, lots of stuff.
鈥淚t鈥檚 good now stepping back, there鈥檚 a rejuvenated spirit.鈥
That regeneration is there to hear in the music, too. With string arrangements by Gita Langley, wife of the band鈥檚 long-time friend Ed Harcourt, there鈥檚 a real vibrancy to the album.
Recent single E.N.D, particularly, has a previously unheard disco feel, while Thought I Wasn鈥檛 Ready, sung by Angela, nods to the sound of classic sixties girl groups.
鈥淚 was really conscious of pushing the band鈥檚 sound and doing something new for us,鈥 says Romeo. 鈥淥therwise we wouldn鈥檛 have made this album. I wanted to make sure I had something to say. It was very important to get it right.鈥
With that came a new approach, so rather than recording in one go, the band would get together for a week or so, record a couple of songs and then come back to the studio 鈥 they now have their own 鈥 a month or two later, to reflect on what they鈥檇 done the last time then continue.
Roy Orbison is another pivotal moment on the album, and Romeo鈥檚 favourite song.
鈥淚 was reading his autobiography, Dark Star: The Roy Orbison Story,鈥 he explains. 鈥淚 had his song, Running Scared, in my head, and I鈥檇 written this fifties-sounding song, inspired by listening to him and reading that book, and that line just came; 鈥楢m I just running scared, is Roy Orbison still ringing in my ears鈥.
鈥淚t was totally about how I was feeling and wanting to escape that moment,鈥 Stodart adds. 鈥淭hat song is special for me, and just happened at the right time.鈥
* The Magic Numbers鈥 fourth album Alias is out now. They play Birmingham Institute on September 16. For details visit
