Måneskin – Rush! (Are U Coming?) (Album Review)

Since initially forming back in 2016, Måneskin has quickly become one of the most talked about Rock acts in the world. Coming from Italy, the band – Vocalist Damiano David, Bassist Victoria De Angelis, Guitarist Thomas Raggi, and Drummer Ethan Torchio – have quite an interesting story to tell as well. Coming together when they were just kids, they came in second on the eleventh season of the Italian version of X Factor in 2017.

Soon signed onto Sony Italy, they put out their debut album Il ballo della vita in 2018, and garnered attention in their home country, as well as other parts of Europe. From here their rise only accelerated with their song “Zitti e buoni” winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 for Italy. Featuring on Teatro d’ira: Vol. I, also from 2021, it seems only been a skyrocket to the top of the music world for this band since. In fact, it resulted with them breaking the North American market in a big way with the release of Rush! in 2023.

Rush!, the band’s third studio album, originally released through Epic Records early in 2023 on January 20th, and again as an expanded edition called Rush! (Are U Coming?) on November 10th, it is something quite impossible to ignore. Now, some late to Måneskin mania may say – what is the big hoopla with this act? They are just another shiny Pop group, right? Well, in this case, skeptics would be wrong, and thus find themselves pleasantly surprised with what they heard. 

This in mind, you are also probably saying – how in the world can anyone has not heard music from Måneskin yet with their extensive radio airplay and buzz in the media? Simple, many real Rock fans do not even pay attention to anything put out by major labels anymore, let alone popular on a Top 40 radio station. Sad, that is how bad things have become in the mainstream music world… that many Rock fans have completely tuned out. All this said, Måneskin begs you to temper your reservations and give them a shot… especially with what they give you on Rush!. 

Breaking it down, still extremely young and growing, this band knows how to write hooky Rock-n-Roll songs that are not overly polished. Quite raw sounding, thanks to David’s very distinctive voice and style of delivering, the guitars, bass, and drums are reminiscent of something perhaps The White Stripes might have produced years ago. Looking back even further, you could argue that Måneskin even derives influence from some more underground, older acts such as The Sex Pistols, MC5, or The Cramps. And if you are someone who is even more deeply embedded in the European Rock/Metal scene, you will find strong similarities between Damiano David’s voice and Finland’s Entwine Vocalist Mika Tauriainen.

Hard to believe, it is all there, and the best part of all… they do not take themselves entirely too seriously. What this means is they are extremely in-tune with the hyper sensitive, overly offended modern world, and instead of confirming, give you plenty of quirky, amusing, and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Quite Punk Rock in a way, another cool aspect is that even this deep into their career they are still also performing some songs in their native Italian! 

Overall, Rush! is an album impossible to turn off. Heavy with playful grooves and untamed Rock-n-Roll antics, it possesses the type of approach that fans of David Bowie, Adam Ant, and T. Rex will absolutely dig. Hard to believe that in the modern world that this would even sell well, it does, and Måneskin’s Rush! topped nearly every single album chart across the globe. Furthermore, with 2023 not even over yet, it has already gone platinum! Rather impressive, if anything, it shows that if you give the mainstream something different that is actually good and not a gimmick, it will get a positive reaction. 

All of these factors outlined, the standard album consisted of an epic seventeen songs. However, the expanded edition Rush! (Are U Coming?), comes with five additional brand-new songs. Amazing to think Måneskin could add to what they already did with the original album, it does and then some. Available digitally and physically across multiple stores available on various formats (including vinyl and CD), the deluxe version includes the Loud Kids Journal; an exclusive photo book with 152 pages with photos and memories collected from fans during the last tour.

So, if you are just learning about Måneskin, they are more than hype, and it is highly recommended to check out their material. In fact, invest in a physical copy, because it is that good. Giving hope to the mainstream music world, Cryptic Rock gives Rush! and its companion Rush (Are U Coming?) 5 out of 5 stars.