The Three 4 Tens

This second full-length release from Philadelphia’s Three 4 Tens seems to make it official that the band isn’t after that evasive link between the psychedelic past and the retro-progressive here and now. Instead, the band seems intent on challenging itself to recreate a dope-addled, late’60s sonic vibe as closely as possible without revisiting any of the era’s particular titles too directly. For the most part, unflinchingly mellow guitarist/vocalist Joe Tagg (as comfortable with his fuzz pedal as his 12-string acoustic), along with partners Brian McNamara and Jamie Mahon, succeed in doing just that. The secret of that success has as much to do with the songwriting and the artist’s performances as it does the decidedly hands-off approach to production.