Like almost all Måneskin releases, RUSH! has been a divisive album, as far as music critics were concerned. Of the 17 tracks of the album, the ones played live had convinced almost everyone. It’s no surprise. After all, since the days of The X Factor, live has been their best dimension. Assuming an unreal world in which the word “rock” doesn’t exist, the first adjective that comes to mind when thinking about Måneskin is “tireless”. For example, their world tour, after having touched South America in October, will restart from Australia at the end of November, will have them fly to Japan in early December, and then close with the two shows in Dublin and Manchester. Eleven sold-out concerts. Now, with the release of “RUSH! (ARE U COMING)?,” featuring four new songs, the adjective “prolific” should also be added.

Listen to RUSH! (ARE U COMING?)

When Måneskin announced the new edition of “RUSH!” with new songs, many will probably have wondered what Måneskin still had to say to further expand tracklist, already long originally. The first response came from the single “HONEY (ARE U COMING?),” which also gives part of the title to the new edition. That was a song in full Måneskin style with a sticky refrain, reiterating that the adjective can be understood (depending on the case and personal tastes) in both a positive and negative sense.

Don’t be fooled though, because “HONEY (ARE YOU COMING?),” is very different from the other four unreleased songs, despite being recorded in the same location, the Moysa studios in Milan. “VALENTINE,” “OFF MY FACE,” “THE DRIVER” and “TRASTEVERE” are not mere fillers. That is demonstrared by the fact that two of them had already been played live on several occasions.

The unreleased songs tell us about a band that, despite numerous awards, is still looking for its own path and still wants to experiment. The influences are diverse. In the four new songs released today, Måneskin enrich their sound with new colors, starting with the new single “VALENTINE.”

The new songs by Måneskin

“VALENTINE”

It is no coincidence that Måneskin chose it as the second single of the new edition of “RUSH!”, after “HONEY.” It is a rock ballad conventional in its sounds but atypical in its lyrics. Damiano sings about a suffocating love that leads to madness, intertwining his voice with guitar arpeggios.

What is most surprising about the song is its unprecedented British sound, in terms of sound and rhythmic construction. The outro is a crescendo of solos. First, the vocal one by Damiano – who seems to find new timbral nuances – then that of Thomas, who draws a virtuosic guitar line that is not too original, but still effective.

The music video also of “VALENTINE” helps to underline this new line of the band. In “THE LONELIEST,” Måneskin were placed in a gothic and funereal atmosphere, a bit like My Chemical Romance. In “VALENTINE,” everything is more elegant. Nothing complicated, actually. Black and white photography is enough to make a video showing the band performing in the studio different from the usual.

“OFF MY FACE”

The theme remains the same as the previous song. However, toxic love is narrated in a much more incisive way here, right from the first verse. “I’m in love with the drugs / But they don’t love me back / I’m in love with the pain / But you make it hurt so bad.” The comparison with drugs is something we’ve already heard, yet the uptempo of the song makes it credible.

It is the song that comes closest to the sounds of “HONEY” and therefore to those that Måneskin have already accustomed us to for some time. This song will certainly give satisfaction to the audience when played live.

“THE DRIVER”

“THE DRIVER” is the best of the new songs by Måneskin. Someone in the United States has already been lucky enough to listen to it live. At the beginning the song may mislead listeners and seem like the usual Måneskin tune, especially because the renewed British influences of the verse are followed by a more classic refrain. In the bridge between the refrain and the next verse there is a sudden change of rhythm.

The march-like pace of the drums is reminiscent of Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia,” without the synth element- The result is a hybrid between the American style of Måneskin and the more British sound already perceived in “VALENTINE.” Such solution perhaps in the future will lead the band to approach writing differently and shape their style in a more original way.

“TRASTEVERE”

Måneskin’s superfans already know that the title of this song is misleading. It is not sung in Italian, but it is set in Italy. The band played it live for the first time during their concert at Circo Massimo. This recorded version does not differ much from that performance, except for the fact that the acoustic character of the song is somewhat lost. As already mentioned, the story is set in Rome. It could be interpreted as the story of an encounter with a fortune teller who reads tarot cards.

“Tell me all your questions / All you got to ask / Says licking his fingers / And shuffling the cards,” sings Damiano, accompanied by Victoria’s barely audible bass and Thomas’ electric guitar. The sound comes closer to the style of the band’s second album “Teatro d’Ira – Vol. I.”

PAOLOOO