Debut LP from Italian Pop Punks
The record company describes them as ‘Pop Punk’ & that’s a fair description for Italian band Vanilla Sky based on this offering. The first couple of tracks are melodic & mid paced- nothing too exciting here & unfortunately this sets the trend for much of the album. Track three ‘Wastin’ All My Time’ picks things up a little, a nice cutting guitar riff & a little more up tempo suggests that perhaps there is better to come. ‘Unfriend’ follows & reverts to type but for the market they’re aiming at this is probably one of the stronger songs & you could see this doing well as a single, by way of comparison it wouldn’t sound out of place in Avril Lavigne’s set!
‘The Point’ starts off with a good catchy riff, more punchy than it’s predecessors, the vocals are more incisive but it just doesn’t quite make it, where you want it to really kick in the chorus slows it all down & it’s a question of what might have been. Track six ‘Wait for the Sun’ finally gets it right and at last it all falls into place – it’s fast, the guitars sound urgent & finally there’s some grunt behind the vocals which provides the passion that has thus far been lacking.
Just as things are looking up however it all disappears as quickly as it arrived, the next three songs are lack lustre affairs. ‘70 Miles Away’ is reminiscent of Busted whereas ‘Broken Car’ is an instantly forgettable ballad.
Penultimate track ‘Never Falling Star’ is another contender for a single, it’s classic pop punk, love it or hate it the ingredients are all there – the big chorus, the simple melodic verse & ample opportunity to jump in the air at a given moment.
The inexplicable track on this record is the final offering ‘The Ghost Track’. Where did this come from?! Dare I say it’s almost hardcore with solid guitar work, frantic drumming & more biting vocals finally deliver the goods. It has the dynamics & the edge that earlier offerings failed to deliver & is the best track by some way.
‘The Ghost Track’ aside you can see this record coming a mile off – you just know what’s going to happen at every turn, it’s kiddy punk & it’s aimed at a specific market & in that at least it succeeds. Ultimately the songs just aren’t strong enough, four or five listens later & I’m still not humming them as I stroll around the supermarket, unlike Girls Aloud – which is kind of worrying!