Ohio stalwart Mike Shiflet sets the raygun to stun on this brief but potent cassette. The initial half of the tape, also called “Honeyed Crest,” stirs the pot slowly. A wave of fuzzed guitar with the slightest hint of foreboding eddies for a few minutes before a more piercing feedback tone middles into the mix, silently screaming from beneath the waves. Near the end of the track, the feedback peels away, leaving the plangent, muted guitar tones and drones that were unknowingly forming the backbone of the piece. “Poisoned Root” greets us mutedly on the flipside, at a hazy gray inlet as on the cover art. A thin layer of static builds against the bulbous siren resounding, before taking its place in prominence. The static quickly morphs into a distorted squall with a buried off-kilter melody. Eventually the tide goes out, pulling the storm away leaving a minute respite. Duration is key on these tracks as not a moment is wasted. Although many ply a similar trade, Shiflet deftly assembles the pieces with a master’s touch and this separates him from the pack. Shiflet has two (!) new LPs dropping soon on Type and host of great releases in his back catalogue. “Honeyed Crest” is on the inimitable NNA Tapes, whose tapes tend to stay in print and available for a while. I appreciate that, in this limited-to-50-copies-that-are-gone-in-an-instant age.
8/10
