I almost agree with other critics on this one... which scares me I guess?
January 23rd 2022
Information:
Måneskin - Rush!
Release Date: January 20th
Label: Epic Records
Runtime: 52:42
Singles: Mammamia, Supermodel, The Lonliest, Gossip featuring Tom Morello.
# Tracks: 17
Deluxe Edition: Japanese 2CD edition, contains the album and bonus track/Mammamia b-side "Touch Me"
Vinyl Edition: Supermodel and Mammamia were omitted to contain the track to a single record, the reason for those tracks specifically is unknown
Breaking Down The Numbers: 82.35% songs in English, 17.65% in Italian, their longest album in track number and runtime to date. 88% songs are listenable, 12% pure skips, 41% of the album is objectively perfect, and 29.5% of the album features writing or production credits to Max Martin
Credits: All tracks credited to the bands four members, Vocalist - Damiano David, Bassist - Victoria De Angelis, Guitarist - Thomas Raggi, Drummer - Ethan Torchio. The tracks boast several producers including CaptainCuts, Fabrizio Ferraguzzo, Max Martin, Rami Yacoub, Sly, and others.
Do You Need The Deluxe Edition?: Nope, I'll explainn below.
Now, Måneskin. A band I like, probably the only band who doesnt always write songs in English that I listen to (so I like to listen to shit thats lyrics are in English, the language that I speak, I feel no shame, sue me) I forget how I figured out about them. All I remember is some time in the two and a half months leading up to Eurovision, I had heard of them, listened to Zitti e Buoni, created a small playlist with that song, Torna a casa, L'altra dimensione, Fear for Nobody, Le parole lontane, Morirò da re, I Wanna Be Your Slave, and Vent'anni, and palyed that on repeat more times than I can count. Il ballo della vita was an incredible concept album, and Teatro d'ira Vol. 1 was a wonderful rock record, and now we land at their 3rd album, Rush!
BEST TRACKS: Own My Mind, Gossip featuring Tom Morello, Baby Said, Dont Wanna Sleep, Read Your Diary, Il Donno Della Vita, Supermodel, The Loneliest
MOST MEANINGFUL: Timezone, Gasoline, Mark Chapman
Skips: Bla Bla Bla, Kool Kids.
The Rest (This time all are pretty great): Feel, If Not For You, La Fine, Mammamia, Touch Me
This time I did things a little different. I wrote on each track individually. This will be the format going forward
1: OWN MY MIND
An AWESOME OPENER. It's vocal rhythms and melodies are on point, it gives a fast paced, almost... classic Måneskin song, but with a chorus that immediately kicks down the door and cements itself as being among their best. I'm going to be playing this one very often.
I wish I had more to say on this song due to my veritable novel on the very next track, oof. I will say it has its production from Captain Cuts to boast,that being the trio responsible for writing or producing material from the Chainsmokers, Halsey, Bebe Rexha, and more. Its also, without a doubt, one of the best songs on this record.
2: GOSSIP featuring Tom Morello
I find that when it comes to certain songs I like that feature Tom Morello*that the track is something I LOVE, but then I forget about, because something about the track makes it... forgettable, like more of a generic rock track that owns your life for a month then you rarely ever hear again, but then, out of nowhwere I find I HAVE to return to it, repeatedly, and the cycle continues from there. The guy can craft insanely good songs, but they often acheive perennial, not evergreen, longevity.
The case stands once again, I feel like this one will get tired, I'll set it aside, then come back in July saying "HOLY FUCK THIS IS THE BEST SONG FROM THE ALBUM!!!" I'll also say you should take a lil trip over to YouTube on account of this song, because it has an incredibly fun music video, and along with the songs increasing bombast, makes for a hilarious and hysterical helluva fun time! It once again occurs to me that it would be incredibly fun to hang out wit this band for a couple days.
*(Lets Get The Party Started with Bring Me the Horizon, Battle Sirens with Knife Party, One Nation with Pretty Lights, Harlem Hellfighter, Hold The Line with Grandson, Achilles List with Damian Marley, Night Witch with phem, Save Our Souls with Dennis Lyxzén of Refused, A Radical In The Family with San Holo, and Human with Barns Courtney, all good examples and worth a listen)
3: TIMEZONE
Its like the pop that comes from that modern trend of trying to reincarnate the Avril Lavigne zeitgeist in artists like Olivia Rodrigo and GAYLE, but its actually really good objectively and subjectively.
A bombastic pop-rock ballad that gets its maturity and credibility from not being "nice but petty as fuck", or "innocent high school romance" or even "pretending to be mature and deep" and instead genuinely giving the impression of long distance love, being far from what you love, etc. Its a very pretty concept. And yes, admittedly, youve all heard this ballad before, in other songs by other artists, both the lyrical content, and the music, dozens of times over. But theres something I like more about this than most of its peers, something I cant quite put my finger on, that makes it stand out in the crowd, like in a crowd of friends and friend-like people you hang out with, that one person who always knows when youre mouth twitches into that barely noticeable half-smile, and always smiles back... if that makes any sense.
4: BLA BLA BLA
IS NOT GREAT! I'm sorry, but I just CANT LIKE THIS!.... Okayt, its not as bad as all that. Its okay-ish. Not great, admittedly, was a true statement. Though I know theres a sector of Maneskins fanbase that will LOVE this track, that section doesnt include me.
But thats okay. They included the track on there because they loved it and wanted it there, and thats all that really matters... isnt it? This may grow on me, but dont hold your breath. But lets end my thoughts off about this one absolute and utter true skip on the album on a good note: In case you've been wondering why I'm putting videos for every single song, theres a simple reason: Each song that doesnt have a true "music video" has a high quality visualizer/lyric video that they filmed, its really cool that they took the time to do it, and so I felt that I couldnt not showcase that well placed hard work.
5: BABY SAID
Theres something almost Palaye Royale adjacent in the instrumentals of the verses of this song, which quality wise in my opinion, luckily, brings it right back, its like modern, glam rock influenced version of the pop/rock god-tier sound Katy Perry crafted with producer Max Martin on her album One Of The Boys (especially on tracks like "I Kissed A Girl") which is no surprise, as the main producer for Rush!, writer on this song, and direct contributor to 5 of the songs on Rush! was,
in fact, Max Martin. I'd argue Martin's greater experience since 2010, & Maneskins rock based sound, makes for an even better version of that former Katy Perry sound . This song is so fun, filled with lyrical switchbacks, between one persons polite flirting, & the other, telling you to fuck off with the small talk & get into bed with them already.
6: GASOLINE
I won't speak against this track, because I understand its meanings and what it means, and its importance to whats going on in our world right now, even if I didnt like it (and to be clear, its an awesome song, and I do love it), I wouldnt diss it. I will go on to say that its a wonderful track, that on one hand can be seen on a shallower layer as being extremely fun. But on another, deeper viewpoint, a powerful protest against the terrible battles raging in Ukraine for the past 11 months.
in Vic DeAngelis' words on the song to the Indipendent: "We’ve been writing a lot of music these past few months, so of course this whole fucking insane situation with Ukraine really affected us. We just felt like we could do something to use our privilege and the people that look up to us to stand for what’s right, and make some people feel helped and understood. We want to raise our voice for something that’s meaningful. It just came pretty naturally because we felt the urge to do it while we were writing and this thing really affected us, as it has everyone. We just felt the need to talk about it." I feel like thats worthy of great respect.
7: FEEL
Feels like it should get more praise from me, there are admittedly much better songs on Rush!, and also it's very reminiscient of Fear for Nobody, but even then, its steady rock swagger and almost drawled quality to some of its vocals, makes for a great time! Its just some tracks on here are just as good, and have those qualities that make them just hit different, but objectively? This song is of equal quality... I wish I had a lot more to say on this song, as currently its barely two sentences.
Fun Easter Egg to fill the space I want: Once upon a time, my mother freaked out, believing I and my 15 year old sister were following porn accounts on my instagram... nope, it was just Måneskin, & cos different cultural perceptions on nudity, but that took about 3 hours to explain. Oof.
But I'll conclude by saying that I think this track will go down as one of the better songs on the album, its just a straight up rock banger. (also lowkey planning to do more of those story time Easter Eggs in the future, so if you hate them, your chance to shit on them until I desist is now or never)
8: DON'T WANNA SLEEP
There may be some repetitive sounds on rush! but trust me, you wont mind here, are there sounds that remind one of other songs on this record and Teatro d'ira?
Yes, but similarities to other tracks or no, we'd be worse off without it, its a banger, and is a vibe that I relate to greatly, on a deeper level than the song is intended I'm sure. The bridge is an interesting and almost unexpected moment, that shows the bands diversity. Plus we get graced with a guitar solo on this one, which is always a good thing.
9: KOOL KIDS
I'll be completely honest , its wayyyy too niche for me, I get where its going, and I LOVE the music, but the vocals on this one are... eh. Or at least "eh" to me, because its again, not for me. And thats O-FUCKING KAY!!!! I'll also say, I love the lyrics, its fun lyrically, made me laugh on the first listen.
It seems to almost say in its lyrics. "We're the cool kids, fuck the cool kids, fuck the cool kids, but we're the cool kids, they wanna be cool like us, but we fucking suck, fuck the cool kids cause we wanna be and we're not"
Fun Fact: I'm not a cool kid. Yup, fucking shocker, right?
9: IF NOT FOR YOU
I promise, I'm going to try to avoid having less and less to say as the tracklist goes on, as hard as it is, because you feel like you wasted all your best words early, so here goes nothing.
Basic Ballad, does its job well, and repeated listens will occur. It is, admittedly as some other critics have said, the "lighters and smartphone lights" part of the setlist. What it has going for it is its quality lyrics, and its classic rock meets 2000's piano driven pop ballad, it introduces strings for the first time on this record, and it builds, first starting with a lone and lonely guitar, then building to incorporatine strings and then almost what feels like drums recorded on an old jazz kit. Its both bare bones and full of atmosphere, allowing Damiano's vocals to shine brightly in their aching sorrow on this track.
11: READ YOUR DIARY:
Max Martin's production helps make this track burn like a bonfire, has the same vibes as Baby Said, except it could debatably be said to be even better, if thats even better. Its like the lust and desire of Baby Said, but in the other direction, also like Mx. Sinister, it proves that
songs about creepy stalkers can slap and be amazing too, you both sympathize, want to understand, maybe even envy the passion of, the stalker, even as you are scared and disgusted of what they precisely want and the lengths they will go to to get it, almost like a vampire of desire.
Theres also wondering who the fuck could be that magical, that someone would not only be in pain over them, but go to the greatest and darkest places to be with them the dark vibe of the melodies compliment the lyrics, theres something almost Fleetwood Mac in this one in my opinion, in the best way. And some of the best lyrics the band has wrote in my opinion. Take the chorus as evidence "Dance in your shoes/Read your diary to get inside of you, you, you/Forever and ever and ever/Cried on your nudes, wearing your perfume/Now, I taste like you, you, you/Forever and ever and ever" or the extremely clever line from the bridge "Alone in the shower/Using my left hand so it feels like you" its rare that a brand new line, let alone a new sex related line, is created that feels a little slick, yet this does it. An absolute album standout.
12: MARK CHAPMAN
Theres only 3 tracks on this album with Italian lyrics. I both like that and feel, not sad, but oddly, fuck, its not even disappointed, more just some strange feeling I have about it, because even though I dont speak or read or understand all that much Italian, I always felt like I could understand most of their Italian songs, especially Vent'anni and Torna a casa, and so I never minded the Italian lyrics, but really when they started as a band wanting to do songs in English, and are trying to make music for the whole world, I understand and respect that decision and feel no negative feelings on it. In fact, I'm impressed that they have in only three albums, managed to make an album a good 5 tracks longer than most labels will support nowadays, that has at least a dozen top tier songs written not in their native language! But lets not forget that this band can create an incredible tune in Italian either, because this one slappity slaps.
Its musically fast in that lilting guitar riff that I love so much, frenetic and speedy, almost but not quite desperate save for in the chorus. And I dont even need to look this one up, I can tell you from what little of the Italian I kind of know, the music, and the song title, that we can define this song with three topics: John Lennon, Ex Murder, and Folie A Deux (as in the Fall Out Boy album). Mark Chapman, for those who didnt know, is the man who murdered John Lennon, he's essentially insane, & became obsessed and enamoured, then also filled with ideological hatred for, John Lennon, so he chose Lennon out of a small group of public figures he was considering killing, and shot him, he's still in prison today. The song taks about knives and lies, darkness and a man saying he loves you, so far as I know, I'd assume the song is using Mark Chapmans story as a vessel to tell a story of an abusive relationship, of that lover who basically decides "you ever leave me and you die". Lastly, this whole songs meaning is tied in with the overarching meaning of the Fall Out Boy album Folie a Deux, which as it was once described by vocalist Patrick Stump, was "the materialistic dance between any two parties obsessed with each other, whether it's teenage girls and handbag makers, politicians and lobbyists or tabloids and stars".
13: LA FINE
Its, hmm, how should I put this? Pleasantly unsetlling, yeah, that sounds right. Its pleasantly unsettling it scratches an itch of sorts, one you didnt even know you had. It does feel rather niche too, almost like Kool Kids, but in a different way, and this time I find that I love it.
As for the "italian block" they formatted the album with. I respect it, I even like it, but I also think, that it makes it too easy for casual fans to just skip it. Or for people to say that they shoved the Italian songs to the end in a block so that they can accuse the band of one thing or another like selling out or some bullshit. I think its rather poetic that they had meaning and purpose behind the placement of the Italian tracks.
14: IL DONO DELLA VITA
Just as Il ballo della vita meant, "the dance of life" its easy for even the english speakers in the crowd to know that Il dono della vita means "the gift of life".
When it comes to Måneskin, if a track in any way has "Il ___ della vita" attached to it, it seems to also be a marker that the song will be incredibly good. This slow burn of a dark ballad hits all the right notes, sweetly firey guitars, a decadent bass tone, and a strong drumgroove as a backbone, the vocals are almost restrained in a way meant to harness and channel their power more precisely, rather than being a sledgehammer to the head, this ballad, guitar driven like all the others (this band is incredibly good at being able to make a rock ballad without having to immediately turn to piano), is more like a scalpel, able to evoke the feelings it wants without smashing your brain like a watermelon. The ballad feels like some of the stuff that Maroon 5 propularized circa their Songs About Jane era, and thats a good thing, it gives that faint pluck at your heartstrings, and feels emotional without having to be a choloroform rag drenched in sappiness
15: MAMMAMIA
Its still as good as it was a year ago, like a b-side of I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE, its fun and sexy, but this one is more dumb fun than dark pleasure like I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE. Its also got a bit of a meaning that you need some context to understand better. At and After Eurovision, there were accusations that the band was drunk and high, and it sounds like some of the people theyve encountered, even perhaps the public eye and opinion, could be a little unfriendly at the bands actions. Which is pathetic, they are just there to be themselves and have fun, and people just had to piss on that originality. The song, despite being overtly sexual in the chorus, features lyrics in the verses such as "They treat me like if I did something criminal/All eyes on me, I feel like I'm a superstar/I'm not a freak, I just thought it was carnival" and "They wanna arrest me, but I was just having fun/I swear that I'm not drunk and I'm not taking drugs" make the allusion to that pressure
of being in the spotlight, and of course about that specific accusation that Damanio was doing cocaine in the Green Room at Eurovision (news outlets carried the story father than it should ever have gone, the supposed "nose candy" was in fact glass shards being cleaned up, Damanio posted a clean drug test, and the band stated they'd all be willing to get tested and made clear that they are against hard drugs). Which makes the music video rather funny, its Damanio pretending to act like a douchebag at a party which all of the band is attending, and each band member brutally murders him in a different room, swirlied, stabbed, clubbed by a guitar, cut with them preforming the song at the same party as Damanio becomes increasingly covered in blood, and Victoria, Thomas, and Ethan driving in a red car jamming out to the track. Its a great watch, much like Gossip was.
16: SUPERMODEL
Without a doubt the band most accessible track to date (aside from beggin', which was a cover), sadly gets a little shit on for that aspect, after all Maneskin, until Beggin blew up on tiktok and stuff, then until Eurovision, then until Supermodel, then anytime before now, Maneskin was more niche, now they are becoming mainstream, and some people arent liking the new and more accessible English material, and put it down as generic and bad. They are missing out though its actually one of their best pop leaning songs, it benefits from Max Martins stellar production yet again, which makes the track feel MASSIVE, it really fills your headphones or the room you play it in.
The chorus benefits from great low vocals with harmonies/tripled vocals, and a nice simple pop melody for the hook. The video is a refreshing chase staring in the morning aftermath of a party, the whole band chasing after, you guessed it, a supermodel, who stole a purse they had as they slept than contains soime divine golden substance, gives of real youngblood chronicle vibes (where the whole thing was a fight over a MacGuffin metal case).
17: THE LONLIEST
Our album closer, featured on all versions of the album, unlike the two that precede it, which are omitted from the vinyl, The Lonliest. This track was one of the best rock ballads I heard in 2022, the same year that Palaye Royale released Fever Dream mind you, I feel this isn't one you can just hear about, it must be experienced, and so therefore I'll keep it brief.
An emotionally bittersweet song, or equal quality and style to Vent'anni, the song is about loss, you could say romantic loss, or grief, or some other pain. The band put it best themselves. “The Loneliest has a strong emotional charge, being a cross between a love letter, a farewell, and a will. That’s what you would say to the people you love when something good ends. They are important lyrics for us: they express a message of universal love.” The track certainly delivers on that. Its melodies are beautiful, its one of the best perfromances the band's individual mambers have each given so far in their careers in my opinion. It is, to make a shitty pun, a rush.
18: TOUCH ME
This is a track you would have only if you have the MAMMAMIA single vinyl or the Japan Deluxe Edition of Rush! on CD. However it has been uploaded on YouTube by fans. The track is a sort of "for diehard fans only" track that the band set aside in this manner for that purpose. I will not even give you a link or embedded video for this one. If you want to hear it, seek it out for yourself. But I will say that, and I apologize for using this description so often, a very fun, straight up rock track, its not neccesary, you arent going to be missing out on an integral part of Rush! if you dont have this track or go through the pain to get it. But it is a cool song, and if you are a fan of the band, and you have the money to spend? Why the fuck not go online and snag a copy of the Japanese Deluxe edition?
Asl Rush! attempts to break into the mainstream, the band grows past its strictly theatrical elements from previous albums in some areas in favour for the lights of the party, it goes from From Under The Cork Tree to Folie A Deux in one bold stroke, to shove another Fall Out Boy reference in here, but theres no shame in that, RUSH! may have no concept or lore, but not every band or album has to do that, and Rush! does just fine at simply being a good record. I think Fabrizio Ferraguzzo and Max Martin are to Måneskin what Neal Avron and Butch Walker are to Fall Out Boy, and they clearly have built an incredible group of collaborators for writing and production for this album, working with these same people in the future would be an incredibly wise move in my opinion. The album manages to be pretty solid, its twice as long song count and time wise than their earlier projects, yet doesnt overstay its welcome. Even the two tracks I labelled as skips have compelling instrumentals, and likely could grow on me in time. The album's biggest hurdle may be the sections of the fanbase that found the band earlier in their careers lamenting the bands musical progression and the music industry trying to decide if Måneskin is rock, pop, alternative, or all three. Further the most hate for individual songs seems to come equally at their most accessible and least mainstream material, which will both prevent any one opinion from dominating, but also will prevent the whole album from doing as well as it could if people would stop complaining as much as they do about not getting the exact album they wanted. Although, while I did say all tracks, I should say its more like all save for Own My Mind and Gasoline, which for an unknown reason in the first case, and a known reason in the second, seem untouchable by criticism.
The album may not be perfect, but is any album really? I give Måneskin - Rush! an A, after careful consideration. A tracklist that is mostly coherent, and 50% of which flows well from one track to the next, all but 2 songs are very listenable, and over half of the album is filled with standout tracks. It may not please everyone, or sound precisely like their previous works, but its an enjoyable album that will dominate my headphones this winter (at least until the new Fall Out Boy album comes out).
Thats all for now, see ya.
Tyler|108
Quick Note Before I Got: I'M CHANGING MY FONT SOON! At my count theres 50 people who read frequently, about 100 who read any Dopamine Review, and about 500 people who checked out any of the Palaye reviews I did that the band retweeted. Do those, lets be generous and say 575 people accounting for overlap, care about this? NO! But I'm fucking sick of this font, and I'm going to be changing it as soon as I find one I like.