vision flight - Determination EP

Vision Flight

Determination EP
self-released; 2014

3.6 out of 5

By Jamie Robash

Boston based solo artist Vision Flight had one goal in mind when he created his artistic outfit. That goal was to combine his background in the genres of classical music, rock and folk with his love of electronic music. And the artistic medium of music has always been manipulated since its inception, and hopefully always will be. But that doesn’t mean that every musical genre goes together as well as chocolate and peanut butter.

To give Vision Flight his due credit on his initial release, the five-song Determination EP is a valiant effort, and there are moments that one can see how this strange amalgamation could work. Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking on my part, though I found myself pulling for Vision Flight most especially on the track, “The Beach House,” which was co-written with Matt Giordano of the band Such Hounds. As I listened to “The Beach House” several times I couldn’t help but be drawn in by the opening bit of hollow sounding acoustic guitar and the sparsest bit of drum machine. But when the bland ‘80s era synthesizer kicked in it felt ruined.  

I had the exact opposite feeling on the tune “Determination,” which bounces along on an albeit cliché drum machine beat, though the synthesizers sound great. Then out of nowhere comes the wail of an electric guitar riff, which later turns into an acoustic guitar riff. The musical flavors threw me off, like drinking orange juice after brushing my teeth. 

I did highly dig two songs on Determination EP. The first was the spritely “Beach Cop Sunglasses,” which is a mellow piece of synth pop infused with bit of a Caribbean flair. To be honest it is a precise piece of electronica with a catchy melody. The other song I thought was really good was the closer “Coast,” a sort of low-fi slow core piece of electronic excellence. 

I understand the want to be experimental. I understand the need to try and create something new and exciting. But I am also a realist who realizes that sometimes one should keep work and play separate. I respect the efforts Vision Flight has taken to create a new hybrid genre, though sometimes experiments are best left in the lab. 

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