Måneskin — RUSH! — Album Review
After making a name for themselves as an Italian rock band, Måneskin’s worldwide recognition came mostly from their English language songs, so it isn’t too surprising to see that their newest album has gone in this direction, likely to be more accessible to English speaking listeners. Unfortunately, this appears to have delayed their previous plans, as indicated by the fact the there is no follow up to “Teatro d’ira — Vol. I”, which suggests that a second volume will eventually show up.
This change has been an unpopular decision with many of Måneskin’s long time fans, as their Italian songs are undoubtedly more unique. I happen to be a relatively new fan, as I only discovered them two years ago thanks to Eurovision. This may be why I don’t mind the new direction, but just like many fans I do prefer their Italian music. The biggest appeal of the band, for me at least, was that Italian rock music was not something I was used to hearing, so it made the band stand out, while now it is much less out of the box.
That being said, this album is still a decent batch of music, and although the songs are much less memorable than any in their previous albums, they are hardly what I would call bad. While there are one or two songs I am not the biggest fan of, I still wouldn’t call any song on this album straight up bad (no, not even “Bla Bla Bla”). The only songs I didn’t add to my playlist are “Gasoline”, “Don’t Wanna Sleep” and “Kool Kids”, so the other fourteen songs are ones that I have enjoyed and want to continue to hear. Some may argue that a few of the songs are bordering on lazy and uninspired, but all provide at least some enjoyment for me, and the aforementioned “Bla Bla Bla” is in the ‘so bad it’s good’ territory, so I can’t quite hate it.
The previously released singles which are all found at the end of the album are alright, but the highlight did end up being some of the newer songs, which is always an appreciated result for me. My favourites are “Gossip”, “Timezone”, “Mark Chapman”, “La Fine” and “The Loneliest”. At the very least, there were three Italian songs towards the end, and they are good enough for me to feel satisfied.
When listening through the album, there really wasn’t any song I wanted to skip, so it didn’t necessarily strike me as a misstep for the band. It certainly garnered a mixed response from fans and commentators, but I think it was a fun album to listen to, even if it’s not quite at the same standard that Måneskin had with their first few albums. I do hope that the band will continue to make Italian songs in the future, as that is their biggest strength, but they have expressed that English songs are actually easier to write, and with the potential for more listeners as a result, I can understand why they would want to continue in this direction.
Effectively, this album feels like a step towards a more commercialised approach for the band, so it may lack the uniqueness and creativity of their previous records, but as a shameless fan of simple but catchy music, there is much for me to enjoy here. With that in mind, I will give this album a 7/10, as it remains an enjoyable listen in spite of the slight downgrade it happens to be for the band.
