Vanilla Sky - Changes (Ita) (CD)

All Music Guide

People who only learned of Italian poppunkers Vanilla Sky through their mischievous cover of Rihanna's smash hit "Umbrella" might be surprised that on Changes, their international debut, this supposedly signature song is stuck at the very end of the 2008 "new version" of the disc and called a "bonus track." The move makes perfect sense, however, since it wasn't "Umbrella" that got Vanilla Sky signed to Universal International. Rather, it was their infectious enthusiasm, catchy and energetic songs, and large European fan base built through hardworking ethics and years and of oldfashioned touring. Besides, by the time the record actually gets to "Umbrella," it seems a sort of knowing injoke that's mildly funny, yes, but wholly unnecessary nonetheless. That's right; throughout Changes Vanilla Sky are strong enough to leave a good impression on their own, without relying on such gimmickry. There's no envelopepushing of any kind to be found on Changes what Vanilla Sky do is play a rather s...implistic brand of infectious poppunk, with sunny hooks, huge choruses, and an occasional slight electronic flourish. But in their hands this tired genre comes thrillingly alive, infused with so much wideeyed joyfulness that it becomes nearly irresistible. Besides, Vanilla Sky are thankfully devoid of any sort of pseudoserious agenda which makes the work of so many of their peers seem heavyhanded. There's no social conscious critique à la latter day Green Day, no goth theatrics of My Chemical Romance, no MySpaceage irony of Fall Out Boy. There's just a plain goodhearted joy of being young and making music that you like. At 17 tracks, Changes may be a bit overlong (a couple of tracks presented in both Italian and Englishlanguage versions seem a nice, but unnecessary nod to their Italian fans), but that dilutes its impact only a little. Otherwise it's a near perfect poppunk record that more than manages to make up in enthusiasm for its relative lack of inventiveness. - Sergey Mesenov, All Music Guide Read more Less