After an exciting, yet scary, switch from solo artist to band, Hope Vista and her recently formed band VISTA are pumped to release their first EP 'Versus'. Often times a band's first EP serves as their way of discovering what music they want to play and what kind of band they want to be. However, in the case of VISTA, they seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Hope Vista [lead singer and occasionally rhythm guitar], Wolf Reiter [drums] and Brian Canfield [guitar] have known each other and played shows together before even forming VISTA. Hope and Wolf had met at a show in New Jersey they were both playing at and Wolf knew Brian as they had been in multiple bands together beforehand. A band whose members have previous experience with one another works so well due to the fact that they know what kind of music they love to play and they all have similar ideas of what they want to do through their music.
VISTA is a great example of this; they all have the same vision for the music. The band describes their genre of music as "anthemic rock" which entails booming anthems with elements of live shows such as chants, heavy drums and pulsing guitars. Hope writes all of the lyrics, therefore each song is very personal to her and they hope that their audiences can resonate with them as well. They want their audiences to be able forget about life for a few moments, get lost in the anthems and feel the music rather than simply hearing it. Released on Friday, May 13, it's easy to see why fans of alternative music everywhere are buzzing about the EP as each of the songs contain meaningful lyrics as well as a beat that you can completely get lost in.
1. Mansions
The EP begins with the song "Mansions" and is Hope's personal favorite. Ever since she first conceived the idea for it she has loved the darkness of it and how it encouraged her to cross over into new lyrical territory. There's a really cool moment of chanting at the end of the chorus and a hint of a violin or cello in the second verse that successfully adds a cool dark feeling to the song. The song gradually builds from chill verses to a chorus that you can't help but bang your head to and overall makes for a great opening to the EP.
2. The Departed
The guys' favorite song from the EP is "The Departed" and it's been their favorite to play in all of their rehearsals so far. The song has a nice constant rhythm that audiences can definitely groove to at live shows. There are places throughout the song where you can hear rhythmic clapping in the background which the crowds at their shows can really get into. It is going to be a really cool song for the band to play live and I think audiences are going to love jamming to it in the crowd.
3. On The Brink
"On the Brink" is the single off of the EP and has served as sort of a teaser for what the rest of the EP was going to be. VISTA's audience has been loving it ever since it was first released and it is one of my personal favorites from the EP. I can really imagine them opening up a show with this song and getting the crowd hyped with the strong instrumentals at the beginning of the song. The entire song is very drum heavy with an intense guitar solo at the end of the bridge and it's a great song for the crowd to jump around to and just let loose.
4. I Hope You Understand
The EP has a strong ending with the song "I Hope You Understand". The song has many places with cool chants that will be fun for audiences to get into at shows. Musically the song goes full circle in a way that it starts off more relaxed, goes into a chorus and bridge that are very instrument heavy and easy to jam to and then the song ends in the same relaxed way it began, fading out until it finally ends. I can definitely see this song being popular at live shows as well.
Overall VISTA succeeded in their goal to create "Rock anthems" and the EP is great in every aspect; instrumentally, lyrically, and vocally. Each member has an immense amount of talent and that really shines through during every song you listen to. The EP 'Versus' is available on iTunes and they have another single coming out sometime in July so I would highly suggest going and checking this band out. They are lining up shows all summer and working on the possibility of touring in the fall as well, so look at some tour dates and go see them live if you can. They put on a rockin' show and if your goal is to let go of everything and get lost in some amazing music, VISTA is the band for you.
Photo Credit: Lauren Taylor
