Witness - Before the Calm

These people are a bit special. The fact that they've supported bands like
Son Volt and Grand Drive speaks volumes about what kind of music they play - it's moody, rootsy, gutsy, rockin'-folk with attitude. Fans of Wilco will
have no problem grasping what Witness are up to, but their song are even
more immediately accessible, with Gerard Starkie's lived-in voice always
well out in front, even when the band is howling and raging away behind him
- as it does on the emotionally churning "Freezing Over Morning". They can
be pretty too, though, as on the fragile, evocative "Hijacker", and there's
touches of Blue Nile-like starkness in the ethereal "So Far Gone". If they
keep doing this, I'll keep raving about it. A truly wonderful debut.

A:1* (A - Sound quality:1* - Outstanding performance)
Johnny Black
Hi-Fi News and Record Review, September 1999