Review Summary: Beware of nefarious earworms that have no cure.
Contemporary rock music has recently gained some traction in the mainstream music industry. Bands like Arctic Monkeys, Highly Suspect, and Royal Blood have proven that guitar-driven music can still cultivate pop sensibilities that radio listeners are accustomed to hearing. With that being said, this Italian quartet pushes the boundaries of what can be considered rock music to a far greater degree than the aforementioned artist. Maneskin has blurred the lines between pop and rock in such a manner that labeling the band as a rock group feels like a misnomer that borders on the profane. Now, this begs the question – does the music industry really need a pop subgenre that occasionally invokes the gritty nature of 2000s butt-rock? Well, we have certainly seen it attempted before with varying results. This can largely be attributed to the difficulty of balancing diverging themes.
When a band has a clear vision and an excellent producer to keep the members toeing the line, the juxtaposition of pop music's flare and rock and roll grit can create a truly captivating record. Various riffs and hooks from albums like AM by Arctic Monkeys and Royal Blood's self-titled have become ingrained into my DNA to the point of absurdity. Honestly, if my brain recreates the falsetto of "Do I Wanna Know" one more damn time, I might be checking out early. I bring this up because earworms can be nefarious, and some obnoxious hooks are designed to stay in your head no matter the level of disdain you have for them. The fourth offering by Maneskin has its fair share of those little bastards.
The first track, OWN MY MIND, starts with a simple beat pattern and rhythmic strumming followed by Damiano David's rather enjoyable headvoice that impressively follows the song's tempo, allowing the listener to anticipate the subsequent rise and fall of excitement. Concerning the pop moniker, the first track is… Well, it's a pop song and not a particularly remarkable one. And this is rather frustrating, considering how the third track, TIMEZONE, is genuinely a great offering that I repeatedly return to. This can be accredited to the emotional vulnerability displayed by the band, and the balancing between the themes of rock and pop is expertly executed. The guitar work on this track is a bit more exploratory, and Damiano's vocals skillfully stir those emotions of heartbreak that the song seeks to convey while simultaneously being an enjoyable earworm.
So, how does the band follow up the best track on the record? With BLA BLA BLA, an aptly titled tune for the most monotonous and just godawful song. Remember those nefarious earworms I warned about in the first paragraph? Well, this one is malignant. Granted, the title track seems to indicate that this song is inviting music critics to ridicule it. Unfortunately, this track is so obnoxious and so early on in the album that it may just push away the casual listener from venturing any further. It is shocking how nobody in the band, or the producers for that matter, didn't suggest leaving this one off the track list.
Nevertheless, this is where we are. At this point in the record, RUSH! is like a goddamn sour patch kids commercial. However, there is a good deal of variation that is admirable. The record's midpoint takes an exciting punk rock turn with KOOL KIDS. Damiano embraces a more abrasive bark, and Victoria De Angelis drops an infectious bass-line that keeps the blood pumping thickly. But like clockwork, we are yet again met with a bewildering follow-up that makes this record feel completely disjointed. IF NOT FOR YOU is a little number that definitely earned its spot on this album, but it would have fit better if it were closer to the aforementioned third track, TIMEZONE. It's a subdued track with great emotional depth, but it dramatically slows down the album's momentum especially when its following the bombastic punk-themed rocker.
I was excited to hear the last track on this record, not because I wanted the album to end (well, maybe a little), but to see how the band would decide to finish this Picasso painting off Wish of an album. So, how did they manage? Well, the closer is really just a Miley Cyrus banger mixed in with some Tom Morello-style wankery, and that might be a good thing? I don't know anymore. It's fine, everything is fine. Maneskin is being Maneskin, and they are here to stay. The disjointed nature of this album is unfortunate because the band has a few highlights sprinkled throughout that show that the group has underutilized potential. Nevertheless, this band will continue to garner the widespread affection of fans and enjoy substantial radio play because they know how to balance on that pop-rock line… for the most part.
