People who only learned of Italian pop-punkers
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 hard-working ethics and years and of old-fashioned touring. Besides, by the time the record actually gets to "Umbrella," it seems a sort of knowing in-joke 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 envelope-pushing of any kind to be found on
Changes -- what
Vanilla Sky do is play a rather simplistic brand of infectious pop-punk, 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 wide-eyed joyfulness that it becomes nearly irresistible. Besides,
Vanilla Sky are thankfully devoid of any sort of pseudo-serious agenda which makes the work of so many of their peers seem heavy-handed. There's no social conscious critique à la latter day
Green Day, no goth theatrics of
My Chemical Romance, no MySpace-age irony of
Fall Out Boy. There's just a plain good-hearted 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 English-language 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 pop-punk record that more than manages to make up in enthusiasm for its relative lack of inventiveness. ~ Sergey Mesenov