Disarming tactic, but it all adds up

The Magic Numbers

“The Magic Numbers” (Capitol)

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PRIME Number Romeo Stodart (and his sister, bassist and singer Michele) grew up in Trinidad and then lived in New York as a teenager before moving to England, where the band has hit the big time with this debut album.

But despite that itinerary, “The Magic Numbers” (in stores Tuesday) is pervaded by a California state of mind -- California ‘60s vintage, that is, from the sunny folk-rock feel to the Beach Boys-like ba-da-da-das. There’s also an unusually heavy dose of the Lovin’ Spoonful in the choogling, good-time rhythms, the guitar fills and especially the fuzzy, sunny, honeyed tone of Romeo’s John Sebastian-like voice.

After the first five songs the album seems to have settled into a contented state of facile homage. But starting with “Which Way to Happy,” the Stodarts and their bandmates, drummer Sean Gannon and his sister, singer and multi-instrumentalist Angela, suddenly downshift and find their heart.

The rest of the album is an unbroken series of ballads in which the Magic Numbers’ flair for melody and comfort with wide-open sonic spaces draws you deeper and deeper into the songs. It’s entirely contrary to conventional CD construction and all the more appealing for being so.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.