Maneskin are working with Max Martin – information that may have given fans pause for thought in 2022. Now the band’s third album, January 20’s Rush, shows that the group’s collaboration with the Swedish hit producer hasn’t taken the edge off the group. The typical maneskin groove, the glam rock, the sex and the drugs in the lyrics are still there. There are also ballads and radio pop anthems that suit the formation well.
“We experimented a lot, there are slow things, but also aggressive, heavy songs. We show many sides of ourselves,” bassist Victoria de Angelis announced at Nova Rock 2022 in an interview with APA. At the festival, the Italians already performed “Gasoline”, one of the strongest tracks on “Rush”. It’s an incredibly cool song that features a Black Sabbath worthy groove, offers a catchy chorus and builds from mid-tempo to erupting.
The rhythm remains a Maneskin trademark throughout (apart from the ballads) on “Rush”, de Angelis and drummer Ethan Torchio develop a rousing, powerful groove. And when it slows down (“Timezone” is an anthemic 80s ballad, “If Not For You” is a classic love song and kitschy fabric softener suitable for radio), Damiano David provides the common thread with his unmistakable voice.
There are many typical maneskin glam tracks, rocking and danceable. On one of those songs, “Gossip,” Tom Morello guested on one of his furious, razor-sharp solos. The Dadaistic “Bla Bla Bla” (“ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, you broke my heart so I crushed your car …”) surrounds a very “evil” text, the previously published “Kool Kids” with its ironic-sarcastic lyrics, it passes as a twin. Another highlight is “Feel” with a great riff and a successful shift in tempo, enriched with typical rock clichés that make you smile and sing along.
The opener “Own My Mind” with its “Zitti E Buoni” ingredients spans the arc from yesterday to today, as well as two songs in Italian. Finally, Maneskin come up with “The Loneliest” (also released beforehand) with a real pop song whose ballad-esque chorus might also have come from an 80s hair metal band (and if Tom Morello didn’t have a hand in that too, then guitarist Thomas Raggi can copy him perfectly). “It will represent our whole range,” promised de Angelis – which the album does. “Rush” offers 17 tracks, two or three less wouldn’t have bothered, but there aren’t any real fillers. The band can be seen live on April 28th in the Wiener Stadthalle – the concert is already sold out.
(S E R V I C E – https://merch.maneskin.com)
