It's a wonder that we can ever muster the energy to get going. It's truly amazing that we ever get to it. We're insufferably doubting and skeptical creatures. There are the few amongst us who appear cool and confident, but those are the peacock feathers out in full plume, nothing but a deceptive streak. We can always hear the wolves breathing heavily just on the other side of our head. We think they got in by sliding up that crack at the bottom of the garage door. We know they're around the corner. We've convinced ourselves that we're tiny specks -- that we're the eyelashes that someone else is wishing on and blowing off their fingertips. We're the littlest of cogs in the machinery and every passing day brings forth more questions and instability. The people we find ourselves in bars or beds with have faces and general demeanor that vacillates between what we feel like we know and that which is as mysterious as anything we've ever encountered. I guess we're just people and -- not to be a downer -- but we hardly matter. We're here and we get to do our thing, but we're stamped out pretty quickly, right out of this grand illusion. These new songs from the great English band The Magic Numbers, are testimonials of this very thought. Most are love stories and the reason for the concern is simply that these people want to matter to this one other, very specific person and that's about as beautifully damning as anything ever could be. We're always on our last stand. We're always testing the waters and they're always testing us back.