THE MAGIC Numbers are no strangers to Galway and the quartet of brothers and sisters, return to the city for a concert at the end of this month.
The band - Romeo and Michele Stodart and Sean and Angela Gannon - play the Róisín Dubh on Sunday November 30 at 8pm, where they will perform songs from their Alias album, released in August, as well as from their much loved eponymous 2005 debut, as well as Those The Brokes (2006 ) and The Runaway (2010 ).
In the four years since The Runaway, a lot has happened to band leader and songwriter, the Trinidad born Romeo - a long term relationship ended, another began, and Romeo became a father for the first time. Much of that emotional turmoil informed the making of Alias.
“Alias was written between two extremes,” he said, “something that was really traumatic that had been festering for years with a lot of pain and guilt, and a new lease of life. My little boy was the best thing that ever happened to me. Fatherhood takes you away from all that self-absorbed nonsense, puts life into perspective somewhat.
“At the same time I’ve now got a lot more focus and drive. I’ve been asking a lot of questions with these songs, trying to find a way to exist without constantly beating myself up, creating music is what I’m naturally compelled to do, so I need do it the best I can for myself and not worry about any of the outside stuff that I have no control over. I feel like I did before the first album, ready and excited about what’s to come.”
Romeo has declared Alias the band’s best work to date, and the critical reception was generally positive. Clashmusic.com said the album was “infused with darkness, intensity, which wrenches the heartstrings; Musicomh.com described it as “a big step in the right direction”; while even a critical review by the thelineofbestfit.com conceded “it highlights the maturity and progression of four highly talented and much loved British musicians”.
Tickets are available at www.roisindubh.net, the Ticket Desk at OMG Zhivago, Shop Street, and The Róisín Dubh.
