Birds Of Maya – Ready To Howl
It takes more than a passing interest in garage-psyche to be familiar with the scorched works of Purling Hiss and Spacin ‘, and it takes downright dedication to be up on the speaker-blown blues of the Birds Of Maya trio (the pair’s screeching recluse of a mother), for theirs is an elusive Philadelphian dynasty truly only beknownst by the locally savvy or the sonically adventurous.
In 2010 their Ready To Howl jams were the searing 3-track soundtrack to a movie of the same name that charted some Joe’s life Friday through Sunday. Now in 2012 Agitated have tabled a CD reissue of the long-out-of-print LP, expanding the release with two stomping and hollerin’ untitled edits featuring Philly legend Harmonica Dan ( Boogie Witch / Mega-Jam Booze Band ).
Of the original track-listing, Friday’s relatively brief swamp-psyche is but a gateway for the two 20+ minute heavyweights that follow. All recorded in static-filled demo quality (lone mic capture miles off something at all times), these basement cuts uniformly smash power blues into sludgy riffs and then pepper the results with filthy nasty vocals hitting like Immortal Lee County Killers vibing off The Stooges . Where one solo would do you get ten consecutively, the primitive rock drawing itself out into ferocious affray and spiralling off into such levels of paint-stripping guitar abuse as to make Hendrix head-butt his way out of his coffin to party.
Undeniably saving the best ‘til last, “Heavy On Sunday” is pretty darn self-explanatory, sounding at first like Deep Purple as tackled by a snarling stoner before cruising around on a fantastic bloodshot groove and ultimately allowing an abrasive strain of outlaw noise to win out.
Kudos to those that were on board in 2010 and for those that weren’t the Ready To Howl reissue is a ridiculously high-octane document of elemental force that should be screamed in the face of every full moon from here on in to eternity.
~The CD reissue of Ready To Howl is out now on Agitated .~