Quickly on the heels of their astounding debut, Cuneiform Tabs return with Age, an LP that takes a massive leap forward in both melodic sensibilities and inventiveness. Bathed in late night psychedelia, the group's experimental penchant remains, yet this time wrapped around tunes too sweet to be denied. In pulling back a little of the crackle and haze that made their first album so inviting, the Tabs have revealed more of their pop instincts. Happy to let a picked acoustic guitar stand alone like a Vashti Bunyan home recording and sit deep in the looping repetition of a drone sample like a bedroom My Bloody Valentine. The overall effect is of a perfect set of early Animal Collective demos or Syd Barrett attempting a Television Personalities cover at 3am. The duo of Matt Bleyle and Sterling Mackinnon continue their system of trading songs back and forth across the Atlantic. A furtive correspondence between the Bay Area and the UK building, layering and blurring as they grab whatever instrument is needed until these sonic nuggets are fully formed. While these songs are very much the product of the Tascam and rudimentary software that is integral to the band, this album is truly the embrace of their melodic songwriting talents – not unlike the recent breakthrough of labelmate Cindy Lee. With the dream-like strum of "Ivy," the slow shimmer of "Orbital Rings" and enchanting madcap swirl of "Blended Medal," this is hypnagogic pop at its finest. Age is the record Bob Pollard hears in his head every time he heads down to the basement to pick up a guitar. This is the sound of riding in an elevator hearing McCartney singing "Blackbird" in the distance, only to have it draw closer and closer with each floor as you finally race down the hallway, putting your ear to each door searching for the source. This is Leonard Cohen smoking in the middle of the street outside of a Suicide show. If all of this sounds phenomenal, it is.
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