JUST over two years ago, Witness emerged from Wigan with their first single, Quarantine, a song that sounded like a deeply blue Michael Stipe trading blows with prime-time Neil Young guitars.

Then came their melancholic debut album, Before The Storm, a downbeat and underrated work built around Ray Chan's lithe guitar and Gerard Starkie's sore-throated angel voice.

A move to Bristol followed as the band -- singer Gerard, guitarist Ray, bassist Dylan Keeton and drummer John Langley -- added long-time collaborator Julian Pranskey-Poole.

And now they are back with a new album, Under The Sun.

With enough references to REM to suggest that had Michael Stipe been responsible for for this masterpiece, pundits would have been waxing lyrical about it's merits.

But even though they won't be afforded the sort of hype given to media darlings Starsailor the album will stand on the quality of the material.

It's 13 solid tracks that find just the right balance between anthemic big chorus numbers and those more reflective moments.

Starkie said the time in the studio had been easy.

He said: "We all knew the songs, so it was just a case of getting the energy levels right. We didn't want to do another downbeat record so it was about stepping things up a bit."

GERARD STARKIE