Angela Easterling - Witness

The South Carolina-based singer-songwriter Angela Easterling, accompanied by an accomplished band, has brought out a new album, her sixth, ‘Witness’, a collection of original compositions except for a moving cover of Woody Guthrie’s ‘Deportee’ (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)’. Produced by partner, guitarist and long-term music collaborator Brandon Turner, this is an album with evocative lyrics, the songs bringing to life an array of characters and scenarios: “So many of the songs are me looking out at the world and things that are going on, and it feels like I’m a witness to it.” Songs to listen out for in this twelve-track collection include: the slow-burner opener ‘California’; the wistful, yearning ‘Home’; ‘Little Boy Blues’ with its eloquent diatribe against patriarchal expectations of her two sons; ‘Halfway Down’, a sombre track belying its upbeat musical texture, capturing the hushed atmosphere in small towns following gun violence, with the lowering of flags to half-mast; the wry, catchy ‘Middle-Age Dream’ with its forthright lyrics about being a musician in later life; the sobering, plaintive tale of betrayal ‘Have You Seen My Friend?’; and the closer, the soulful, passionate love song ‘Grow Old’. A melodic mix of Americana, homegrown country and rock, ‘Witness’ resonates with heartfelt lyrics and powerful storytelling.

Track Listing:-

1 California
2 Home
3 Little Boy Blues
4 Halfway Down
5 Keep Your Head Down, Johnny
6 Middle-Age Dream
7 Witness
8 Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)
9 Hero
10 Have You Seen My Friend?
11 Baby Bird
12 Grow Old