It’s already been a hell of a ride for Måneskin. If not for their 2021 victory in Eurovision, the Italian rockers’ 15 minutes of fame may well have both begun and ended on the Italian X Factor in 2017. Now, with a healthy international fan base, the Romans are breaking out the big guns for their third album.
There’s no doubt that Rush! is a bid to secure Måneskin’s foothold in foreign territories; the majority of these songs, recorded with iconic pop producer Max Martin, are slick (although lyrically uninventive) English-language affairs, aside from a smattering of tracks in their native tongue.
Although derivative, there is enough energy and charisma wedged into these songs to see Damiano David and his bandmates through. For the most part, Rush! sounds like a blend of Queens of the Stone Age’s firepower and Franz Ferdinand’s pop sensibility; the brisk bounce of Gossip (featuring Tom Morello) and the glam swagger of Timezone are entertaining, as is the clipped strut of Feel, the sleazy bassline of Gasoline and the thrashy punk of Kool Kids.
At times, though, it feels like Måneskin are perhaps too in thrall to their heroes, while the niggling suspicion that we’d never have heard of them if not for the profile afforded them by Eurovision is hard to shake off.
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As a collection of surface-level, toe-tappy rock songs, however, this is more than serviceable. Let’s see what they can do next. maneskin.it
Release date: January 20th
