WINSTON ViSTA has shared an alternate version of HESITATION, a standout track that first appeared on his 2023 album, A PLANNED ESCAPE.
Released as a bonus track, HESITATION adds further texture to ViSTA’s already stellar debut, which spans 16 songs and traces the Washington musician from the indie jangles of THE WAY OUT to the surf rock of THE EASY WAY.
All throughout A PLANNED ESCAPE, ViSTA pairs his rustic vocals — which flit between ascendant harmonies and brooding riffs — with lush and enrapturing guitar work.
Operating in blissful tandem, ViSTA’s voice and nimble fingers craft rich, sun-drenched vignettes with a soft rock flair, detailing everything from retreating to an old lover (as on the synth-drenched CAFFEINE COMEDOWN) to the passage of time (on the folksy WHEN THE STORM’S OVER).
There’s a spareness to the production on A PLANNED ESCAPE, with tracks that make use of a few simple instruments and sonic flairs that dissipate and swell in certain areas.
The result is a layered tapestry, bound by alt-rock and the buttery, Hozier quality of ViSTA’s vocal range. In between the slow grooves of LIFELINE and the tinny, bedroom pop sounds of MY ESCAPE, it’s second track DREAM on HOLD that pulls focus.
Forming both the thematic and sonic basis of the remaining tracklist, DREAM on HOLD coasts on a waltzing, almost-off tempo rhythm, with subtle cymbals and glittery piano keys.
Reflecting on that track’s message on nostalgia in a press statement, ViSTA said: “It’s good to reflect and look back, but not to the point of trying to live in memories and be absent from the moment you find yourself in right now.”
Further expanding his soundscape into the new year, ViSTA has dropped an alternate version of album track HESITATION, which features saxophonist Robert Harris as well as a new ending.
Adorned in regal brass notes and layered vocal harmonies, HESITATION marks one of the album’s jazzier moments, with modern flairs in the form of sci-fi-like synths and punchy percussion.
The bonus track is accompanied by a b-side, DESERT, which somehow manages to confine ViSTA’s diverse sonic palette within a brief interlude.
Having already released A PLANNED ESCAPE, it might’ve been easy for ViSTA to rest on his laurels, but the arrival of a bonus track proves the musician’s eagerness to further sketch his sonic landscape, and listeners are all the better for it.
ViSTA is currently at work on his sophomore album, but in the meantime, you can listen to both A PLANNED ESCAPE and its bonus alternative track HESITATION below.
