Cool. Sweet, stinging, garage ’70s clang and buzz bites off whatever it needs from the rock and the roll. Kissin’ cousins are Jesus and Mary Chain, cool never-was’es like Plexi and Earth18, the basic history of the bubble gum’n’gin slurpy the Vaseline’s and Motocaster served up. Hell, On Parade is part and parcel of "that feeling," ya know? T-Rex, power pop Nirvana, the Modern Lovers, The Only Ones, the Clean, Plasticland… As simpy as it may get, the tunes are there, the hooks are there, the sickness-of-coy-come-on’s are there. It’s a world view in a dosed-up Cherry Coke. I’m waiting for the totally devastating cover of Tommy Roe’s "Dizzy." It’ll be great.

by Helen Park

Despite first impressions, it is neither accurate nor fair to tag the Witches as rock ’n’ roll retro vaudevillians. We could rattle off lazy, stream-of-consciousness adjectives and knee-jerk comparisons all day long and it still won’t bring the essence of the band into focus. The Witches can be moody, erratic, joyful and destructive all at once. The band has the ability to evoke the spiritual shadow of any number of A-list rock and pop culture trailblazers from the mid-’60s to present. But it still doesn’t form a conclusion; behind the smoke and mirrors of reverb and delay the essence of the songs themselves will still be something of a mystery. When singer Troy Gregory asks “Who wants to dream at my birthday party everyday?” (“who wants 2 sleep with the birthday grrrl”) the soporific strangeness of the song’s lyrics are accepted without question. Gregory can be howling and ranting about something that, out of context, seems like irreverent nonsense, and his sleight of hand as a songwrite And while the listener follows Gregory On Parade, the details of the record prove equally stunning after a number of listens. Johnny Na$hinal and Eugene Strobe are constantly adding essential subtleties on guitar. The use of vocal effects and overall feel of the songs demonstrate a band that is more evolved than the one that appeared on their earlier effort, Universal Mall. Without a doubt On Parade shows the Witches as a rock ’n’ roll band every bit as deserving as the more notorious of their hometown brethren.

TIME OUT - New York

by Jimmy Draper

Hatched at Ghetto Recorders Studio with ubiquitous Detroit producer Jim Diamond, On Parade has predictably gotten the Witches-like so many of the city's guitar-based bands-pushed onto the White Stripes bandwagon. The upshot to such an ill-conceived comparison is that some of the more fanatical Jack and Meg minions may be more likely to seek out one of the Motor City's best-kept secrets, but it's important to forewarn the Stripes obsessives that a hometown, a studio and a producer are the only things the Witches have in common with everyone's favorite candy-colored cover kids.

Since forming on Halloween 1996, the Witches have offered up a seriously smart psych-pop and retro-rock hybrid that's kept them safe from the easy categorization suffered by many of their peers. And with their third official release (one album was recorded but didn't come out), On Parade, the aptly self-described "misfits of Detroit" continue to straddle two of their city's recent musical revivals-the space-rock scene of the mid-to late '90s and today's garage bonanza. Since its melodic, reverb-heavy repertoire recalls the Velvet Underground, Guided by Voices and Outrageous Cherry (whose Matthew Smith guests on trumpet), the Witches could easily be pegged as rock & roll rip-offs. Instead, they've continually pulled off their potentially derivative sound with gloriously giddy-and surprisingly original-results.

Rife with crazy-catchy choruses and excellent stream-of-consciousness songwriting by singer Troy Gregory, On Parade should finally put the Witches on today's media-saturated Motown map. The Stones-y "Tryin' 2 Talk 2 U" and the bedroom bummer pop of "Who Wants 2 Sleep with the Birthday Grrrls" are representative of the album's musical mood swings, but it's Gregory's surrealist, Robert Pollard-style lyrics ("Who wants to be at my birthday arty everyday?") that make On Parade so impressively unpredictable. Like Gregory's songwriting, the Witches' very existence in a city currently known for blues rock and techno may not be explainable, but somehow it still makes perfect sense.

Following the success of the Sights, L.A.-based/Detroit-obsessed Fall of Rome gives us the latest ‘60s-inspired Motor City squad, the Witches.

Troy Gregory and band are much moodier than the usual crop of garage-grounded rockers, with foreboding inclinations closer to the Velvet Underground than the Stones or the Beatles. And the accent here is more psychedelic, with hollow, melancholy vocals and hypnotic, reverbed guitar.

Credit producer Jim Diamond (White Stripes, Mooney Suzuki) for capturing a half hour of dark garage-pop in one week of studio time. The dual guitars sound spooky as anything by the Cramps or Seeds, while the rock-bottom rhythm section keep things flickering like electric lamps swinging in a stiff wind.

Gregory has a penchant for misery, whether directed at him (the Stonesy "Y Do U Make Me Feel Like That" and the Them-like rave-up ""Nuthin’ Seem 2 Please U") or self-inflicted (the ‘70s rock-styled "I Luv’d Wrong"). Makes you wonder if he’s ever had a good relationship.

However, the disc could use some additional workout moments, and the overall desolation tone eventually gets fatiguing. And the TV audio collage that ends the otherwise fine psych-out "On the Haunted Side of the House" is just plain annoying.

Recommended for fans of the Mono Men, the Monkeywrench or the Nomads. Grade: B

by DJ Johnson

Some bands go to extremes to make creepy music. They use horror movie sound effects in the background, overdose on bloodcurdling screams, and make every lyric center on Satan or Manson. 90 percent of them don't make creepy music despite their best efforts. It's an attitude that comes through or it doesn't. Blue Oyster Cult could give you chills with a mid-tempo acoustic ballad simply because there was something menacing in the undercurrent. Few bands today even belong on the same stage as The Witches when it comes to spooky, creepy, psych-based, nightmare-inducing rock and roll. Some of the songs on their latest release, On Parade, are simply going to give you the creeps. You can explain it sometimes - deep reverb, ghostly background vocals, wailing guitars, dark lyrics - and sometimes you'll back that disc up again and again trying to figure out what it was that got to you. It's nothing specific sometimes. Some of the songs are pop-oriented, after all. There are even bubblegummish la la la's in "Who Wants To Sleep With The Birthday Grrrl?," though they can't hide the odd vibe that makes it fit in with the rest of the songs. Vocalist Troy Gregory just keeps getting better, both at singing and writing. The band has gone through another round of musical chairs (it's almost a collective at this point), with guitarist Johnny Na$hinal still in the fold, where he'll probably remain, as his own sound is vital to what has become the signature Witches sound. One huge change has taken place as former Sights drummer Eugene Strobe has come aboard on guitar. Yeah, really. In my review of the Sights CD that Strobe played on, I pointed out that he was one of the most energetic and exciting drummers on the scene today. It turns out he's also not only a fine guitarist, but apparently a man with ideas, as he co-wrote 8 of the 10 songs here. If Strobe sticks around and continues writing with Gregory, us creepy music fans who like a little bit of Halloween all year round are going to be very happy freaks. Oh, by the way, the liner notes tell an apparently true and bizarre story about one of the days the album was being mixed. Music award show, suspicious Kiss tote bag, too much alcohol and too many buttons... You'll have to read it.

Troy Gregory and crew came back with more authentically spooky songs from Detroit. This time around there was a surprising addition. Eugene Strobe, who until recently had played extremely energetic and exciting drums with The Sights, became The Witches' new guitarist and primary co-songwriter (along with Gregory). Serious talent. The CD arrived just in time for Halloween, and if you know The Witches, you know the music is perfect for those who want real chills. It's a vibe, not a blatant fright-night lyric, and nobody delivers that vibe like The Witches. Since I'm pickin' 'em, and Halloween is my Christmas, this CD is like a religious document. Far and away the best of the dozens and dozens of Halloween releases this year.

We are quickly becoming intent fans of Troy Gregory. We were impressed as hell by his album Sybil, a wild rockin' album that was highly entertaining and chock full of crazy rock energy. Gregory's image and voice reminds us in many ways of long lost "shoulda-been-a-rock-star" Bruce Joyner. The Witches are a great garage rock band. The band's guitar driven tunes rock...but they don't speed by like greased lightning. When these folks start a song they create a groove and stay in it...and the melodies unforgettable. This material might now blow you away the first time you hear it. But take our word for it, repeated listenings will make you want to hear this baby over and over and OVER again. Excellent heady rockers include "(What Is Yer Preferred Device) IT," "I Luv'd Wrong," "Everything Been Cool." (Sheesh...even the SONG TITLES are killer!) Highly recommended stuff. (Rating: 5+++)