Two years ago, Wigan's Witness were warmly praised for the radio-friendly indie-rock of their debut album 'Before The Calm'. Since then, they've relocated to Bristol, where they added former Strangelove percussionist Julian Pransky-Poole, and have sought to transform press adulation into stonking commercial sales by recording this rather fine second opus.
'Under A Sun' is a mature and assured collection of country-tinged, rootsy rock, sometimes mellow, sometimes brash. Sounding like a mixture of REM -as is often remarked singer Gerard Starkey does have a touch of the Stipes about him- the steely twang of 'Harvest' era Neil Young, the jangling prettiness of The Byrds, the cocky riffing of The Verve and Oasis and the rootsy, folk-rock of Hothouse Flowers, this is a compelling, more coherent follow-up.
Fleshed out with tenderly tickled piano, harmonica and Hammond, these huge melodies ebb and flow from sparse, warm and touching fragile passages to grandiose rocky stompings, Starkey's seen-it-all vocals rich, human and emotive.
Best of the bunch here are melancholy recent single 'You Are All My Own Invention', the piano-powered gorgeousness of 'Till The Morning' and the upbeat harmonious rock of 'My Time Alone'. Fine tunes all. Although, whether this down-to-earth, earnest, image-free concentration on crafting decent tunes will be lost amidst all the R&B pop pap out there remains to be seen.
