Review Summary: Vistas has some issues with pacing and contains some jarring shifts in style, but anyone who enjoys chilled out instrumental music will love this.
Vistas is most definitely not the "miracle" that Gavin Dunne's pseudonym suggests, but it certainly gets the job done. Miracle Of Sound is a one man project by Gavin Dunne with the sole purpose of evoking a chill atmosphere through somber and intriguing instrumental music. He utilizes a wide range of instruments that create a very jazzy sound.
Vistas doesn't disappoint when it comes to creativity and it has a little something for everyone. It showcases a plethora of styles that include the trippy "38th Street," the beautiful strings driven "Lover Stone," and the movie climax piece that is "The Call." Rest assured Gavin really shows has talent in the field of instrumental music in his sophomore outing. However, he also displays a decent amount of flaws at the same time.
There are issues in the first half of the album due to the placement of each song on Gavin's album. While each song is initially fun to listen to, the record as a whole is pretty disjointed.
Vistas is essentially best described as a really well done collection of demos. However, the first half of the record suffers from this disjointed nature. The first track, "38th Street," showcases a piano driven melody while its succeeding track, "4am," features more of the same. Strangely enough, the listener experiences a swift change in style once the electronic "Electric Sky" starts. Though this song never the less soars in its evocative nature, it still doesn't change how disjointed the first half is. Essentially we start with piano driven songs and they are followed by songs driven by electronics. Though none of these songs are unpleasant listening experiences in any way and quite the contrary. However, as a whole it would have been a better decision to structure the record a different way.
These gripes aside, the second half is more well done to a certain degree. Even though we experience some unexpected style changes out of nowhere, songs like "Kakolukia" and "Lover Stone" without a doubt do not disappoint. "Kakolukia" really creates the sensation of wandering alone through the desert due to its epic drumming, middle eastern instrumentation, and occasional vocalizing while "Lover Stone" is a beautiful strings driven song that really puts the listener at peace. "Sunny Day Part 1" evokes the same kind of atmosphere which is admirable, but its second part unfortunately lets us down. "Sunny Day Part 2" contains a generic electronic rhythm that we hear literally every day on the radio and the decision to have this piece follow the amazing "Sunny Day Part 1" is jarring. Nonetheless
Vista's second half soars high above its first half and it has a brilliant movie climax conclusion. Despite the abundant shifts in style along the way, Gavin's
Vistas creates an awesome mood. Though it's nothing that mind blowing, it will still thrill lovers of ambient, atmospheric and diverse instrumental music.
Vistas certainly will not thrill every music listener due to its overall peaceful mood and each song having a tendency to not break the three minute mark however, but this well worth anyone's time who enjoys chilled out instrumental music. While reading this creates a perfect ambient atmosphere all the way through. Though it has some issues with pacing and some jarring shifts in style,
Vistas is still very tasteful music with a vision.
