The Witnesses

Black Eyes and White Lies

(Howler)

Record Review by Karen A. Mann

The Witnesses have me in a conundrum.  Despite the accolades being heaped upon them as blues-rock saviors with great taste in fashion, this is easily the most retro-contrived band I've heard, or seen, in a long time.  Well, actually, that dubious honor probably should go to The Mooney Suzuki, in which drummer Will Scott and guitarist Darian Zahedi played before joining The Witnesses.  I'll admit being somewhat at a disadvantage, having never seen the band live (word is, they put on a hell of a show).  But listening to Black Eyes and White Lies over and over again leaves me with one distinct impression: There ain't much on this CD -- including the Sticky Fingers-era outfits the band sports on the back cover -- that hasn't been lifted wholesale from a dozen other sources, including Boss Hog, New York Dolls, The Faces and, of course, The Stones.

But something strange happened:  the more I listened, the more this CD grew on me.  That's due in large part to the fact that keyboardist/singer Bonnie Bloomgarden has an incredibly powerful voice.  And to the fact that there are a couple of truly stand-out tracks on the CD, particularly the slinky "Don't Kiss and Tell," which has nice "woo-a-hoo-oooooo" lyrics.  "Summer of Blood" showcases Bloomgarden at her best, even if the song's basic riff is pretty much a reworked-version of "Jumping Jack Flash."  It also doesn't hurt that this is truly a good band with five talented musicians who work well together.  They just don't have too many ideas of their own.