Måneskin - “RUSH!” Album Review

Story posted January 24, 2023 in Arts & Entertainment by Kaitlyn Murphy.

Italian rock group Måneskin is back and angstier than ever with its fourth album “RUSH!”

The group shot to fame after winning the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, and also for their TikTok viral cover of “Beggin’” by The Four Seasons. Måneskin has released music both in English and Italian, but “RUSH!” is English heavy with only three songs in Italian.

This has upset some fans since the band is from Rome, Italy, but the members have been forward about how many of their influences are English-speaking artists like Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and David Bowie.

“RUSH!” is definitely a rock album, but also has notes of pop woven throughout to expand the audience and give it a more mainstream feel than their earlier Italian work.

One of the singles from the album, “SUPERMODEL” tells the story of a woman who resembles a 90s supermodel. The band utilizes a consistent drumbeat and simple guitar riffs to give the track a pop sound with a rock undertone.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the song “GASOLINE” starts with drummer Ethan Torchio hitting his drumsticks together to queue in bassist Victoria De Angelis, who shreds a low and seductive rock riff.

The lyrics also have darker nuances, with the pre-chorus being “How are you sleeping at night? / How do you close both your eyes? / Living with all of those lives / On your hands?”

The band members revealed that “GASOLINE” was written as a response to the Russian attack on Ukraine, as they wanted to use their craft to show support for the people of Ukraine.

“RUSH!” also includes surprisingly tender rock ballads “TIMEZONE” and “THE LONELIEST,” with the latter being the second single released from the album. It’s refreshing to hear lead singer Damiano David put his wide vocal range to use on these ballads.

“THE LONELIEST” is one of Måneskin’s most emotional songs, conveying the feeling of being in love with someone who is unavailable.

It includes the hopeless lyrics “‘Cause I don’t even care about the time I’ve got left here / The only thing I know now is that I want to spend it / With you, with you, nobody else here.”

The multiple tonal shifts of “RUSH!” certainly make it a more interesting listen, even if some of the songs are a bit juvenile.

One of the least compelling tracks on the album is “BLA BLA BLA,” which mainly consists of David laughing, discussing a drunken night where he crashed someone’s car, and then repeating “bla-bla-bla” an unnecessary amount of times.

While the band was clearly trying to have fun and not take themselves seriously with this song, it did not fit well on the album and could have been cut.

The Italian songs ‘MARK CHAPMAN,” “LA FINE,” and “IL DONO DELLA VITA” are nothing groundbreaking, and frankly did not live up to their smash hit “ZITTI E BUONI” that racked up over 367 million streams on Spotify.

Overall, “RUSH!” is a fun, angsty addition to Måneskin’s discography that delivered tracks for when you’re feeling empowered, heartbroken and everything in between, but also included some less memorable “filler” songs that should have been scrapped.

Rating: 6/10

Reviewer’s Favorite Songs: “THE LONELIEST,” “TIMEZONE,” “GASOLINE”
Reviewer’s Least Favorite Songs: “BLA BLA BLA,” “KOOL KIDS”

Kaitlyn Murphy is a first-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email kvm6255@psu.edu