do you believe in magic?

Two newish English bands that like being in bands.

The Magic Numbers are a pair of brother-sister combos. They play songs that sound like they belong to the past. They are polite and thank you for coming to their show. They don't dress too well; there is a family resemblance to High Fidelity Jack Black. (Although apparently they are a bit sensitive.) The Magic Numbers covered Crazy in Love (mp3 link). Reuters like them on the west coast; I liked them last night at the mercury lounge.

"My Little Brother" by Art Brut is the recent song i like the best. They just played a few shows here that I am sorry to have missed. The reports were good. Like the Magic Numbers, their album has a few clunkers, but they are fun. They have another song "Formed a Band" that pretty much sums up their ambition:

I want to be the boy
The man
Who writes the song
That makes Israel and Palestine
Get along

I'm gonna write a song
As universal as Happy Birthday
That's gonna make sure
That everybody knows
That everything's gonna be ok
I'm gonna take that song
And we're gonna play it
Eight weeks in a row on Top of the Pops

They aren't lookers, so hopefully they're ready for a few jokes.