In the thick of their headline tour “The Beautiful Nothing”, Edinburgh based indie band Vistas visited The Loft in Southampton to play old favourites and new releases all in the run up to festival season.
In the thick of their headline tour “The Beautiful Nothing”, Edinburgh based indie band Vistas visited The Loft in Southampton to play old favourites and new releases all in the run up to festival season.
Having released their second EP “The Beautiful Nothing” at the end of January this year, Vistas visited Southampton, marking their 11th sold out show on the last leg of their tour of the same name.
Support came from alternative pop singer-songwriter Pixey, who kicked off the night with a bang that could not even be stopped by a faulty sound system two songs in. Instead showcasing the easygoing nature of her music, the set continued acoustically alongside help from guitarist Alan Mueller. Teaching the crowd her lyrics to chant back and clap in time took place of backing tracks on singles such as Sunshine State and Free to Live in Colour, she was enjoyed so greatly that when she returned onstage to retrieve some personal items the crowd cheered for an encore, to which she replied “I haven’t got anything else to play!”
With the crowd warmed up by Pixey’s infectious joy and an earful of golden oldie throwbacks featured on the pre show playlist, Vistas kicked off the set with “One More Night With No One”, the most recent single off EP “The Beautiful Nothing”, swiftly following with fan favourite Tigerblood. The hour long set seamlessly wove together singles such as the newest “Last Together” alongside deeper cuts like “Sentimental” amongst the bigger festival anthems in the form of “Calm” and “Everything Changes in the End”.
Recent releases such as “The Beautiful Nothing” and “Last Together” co-written by Fred Macpherson (Spector, Low Spirits) and produced by Rich Turvey (Blossoms, Oscar Lang) showcases that Vistas playing to their successes at explosive choruses does not necessitate the upbeat summery tracks that they were previously synonymous with. However the different dynamic should not be mistaken with a different reception, as demonstrated through the reaction to songs like “Back of The Car”, where cheers from the crowd erupted at the sound of the opening notes and audience members sang near every word back at the band. The new direction appears to have paid off in the eyes of fans, and comes five years after debut EP “Hello”, no songs of which made the cut for the evenings set.
The busy 17 track long set left next to no time from band members to talk aside from short introductions, which did leave a little interaction to be desired, but conversation was hardly needed as lyrics were being shouted by fans jumping to create circle pits at breaks and drops of bigger hits like Stranger and Start Again. Simply standing in The Loft while people were jumping on the other side of the room was enough to feel each floorboard spring under your feet with the joy of people pushing their mates.
For being named The Loft, the venue itself gave a very underground feel through the black walls and ceilings, offset through the use of white fairy lights, and stage adorned with quick colour changing LED adding an ultra-modern vibe. Boasting a capacity of 300 and a brand new bar, the room almost began to feel too wide as people piled in, especially for housing a smaller stage, leaving some fans craning their necks close to the walls, yet by the bar was almost an ideal place to be for a decent view.
“Stay safe, look after eachother” lead singer Prentince Robertson advised, “and we will hopefully see you this summer” before jumping into their biggest hit “Retrospect” to close the show. Cementing themselves as a festival band became natural due to their strengths, but the newer direction of their music is a hit even with fans who think they are only there for the classics, showing Vistas determination to demonstrate artistic growth is truly paying off.