On Now You Are This, post-punk trio Numbers combines basic songwriting elements of pop music — melodies, simple progressions, and consistent tempos — and applies its own unique brand of disjointed themes.
Consider the band to be a darker version of label mate Deerhoof, who also plays with the principles of pop music. A significant difference between the two ensembles is that this release sounds linked together, forming a total product. Now You Are This features a definite beginning point (“New Life”) and expectedly unwinds to the finale (“What Happened To You”).
Considering the instruments the trio plays — mostly a variety of modulating keyboards — a lot of attention needs to be divided equally between the drums and few snippets of guitar. On some songs, keyboardist Eric Landmark pounds out chords that clash perfectly against each other. And in other circumstances, he just lets his part moan in the background, causing a sense of eeriness.
Vocally, the band blends together well, creating balanced harmonies of phrases like “ba-ba da-da” and other segmented syllables. At times, however, the lyrics are hard to hear due to mixing. It would have been nice to hear the words come out a bit more than the maturing monotone instruments.
– Adrian Finiak
Numbers (Kill Rock Stars)