Alicia Witt is an artist with many strings to her bow. As well as being a much-loved actor celebrated for her roles in the likes of ‘Cybill’, ‘Urban Legend’ and ‘Nashville’, she’s also an incredibly talented musician. Witt has been releasing music since unleashing her self-titled EP in 2009 and her last album, ‘The Conduit’, was released in 2021. Earlier this year Witt took part in ‘The Masked Singer’ in the US, where she was unveiled as Dandelion, impressing audiences and the judges with her vocal ability. On the back of that appearance, Witt today releases her new EP ‘Witness’.
The six-song collection threads the ‘Witness’ theme throughout as Witt delves deep into her life and emotions to deliver songs with meaning and feeling. Opening with the title track ‘Witness’, the EP gets off to a strong start as Witt sings about being there for someone, and them being there for her. Her voice packs an emotional punch as she sings about the solidarity of friendship and the ability for people support one another even when they are separated by distance. It’s a powerful moment that paves the way for an emotional listen.
Second track ‘Clever Mind’ is written from the perspective of a woman having an affair with a married man. It’s a refreshing twist on a familiar scenario as we get to hear from the other woman rather than the one who has been scorned. That’s followed by the catchy ‘Loop’, one of the EP’s more upbeat moments as Witt sings about the flutterings of love for someone new in her life. The instrumentation is light and whimsical, making it a perfect reprieve from the EP’s heavier material.
The highlight on the EP is ‘Always Tuesday’, sitting at the centre of the record the song has a touch of Carole King and James Taylor to it. In my interview with Witt recently, she talked about how deeply personal the song is to her and that she couldn’t fully talk about the inspiration behind it. I don’t want to speculate here but you can see that elements of the lyrics may relate to a tragedy that Witt went through in recent years. With that in mind, it’s hard to get through the song without tears forming.
The final two tracks on the EP are ‘One Last Drink’ and ‘Someone to Write Me a Song’. On ‘One Last Drink’, Witt leans into her Country influences with a sing-a-long refrain as she prepares to take the next step with a lover, while on ‘Someone to Write Me a Song’ Witt reflects on her wish to be the subject of someone’s musical musings over a Billy Joel-esque piano melody and questions why romance hasn’t worked out for her yet despite the many other successes she’s had in other areas of her life.
‘Witness’ is an EP that sees Witt really laying her emotions bare. These six songs leave you wishing there were another six more and perhaps in the future, Witt may decide to expand ‘Witness’ into a full-length album. As it stands, ‘Witness’ is a powerful EP that showcases Witt as an artist who is really coming into her own. That confidence she discovered on ‘The Masked Singer’ shines through her and if she keeps mining deep, the sky will be the limit for her moving forward.
Track list: 1. Witness 2. Clever Mind 3. Loop 4. Always Tuesday 5. One Last Drink 6. Someone to Write Me a Song Record label: Alicia Witt Release date: 25th August 2023
