On Friday, 2021 Eurovision winning band Måneskin, released their fourth studio album, Rush!. 

The group, which features singer Damiano David, drummer Ethan Torchio, guitarist Thomas Raggi, and bassist Victoria de Angelis, started when they were only in high school. David, de Angelis, and Raggi–all friends at their high school in Rome–started a band and eventually were joined by Torchio, who lived in nearby Frosinone, after posting an inquiry on Facebook asking for musicians. 

The group became official when they chose a name to enter Pulse, a contest for uprising bands. The name was supposed to be temporary, only meant so that they could enter Pulse. The band had de Angelis, who is half-Danish, say several words in Danish in an attempt to find a name for themselves. When de Angelis said Måneskin, which translates to “moonlight,” the band had found their temporary name. Little did they know that the word would soon become a household name within the European rock scene. 

In 2017, when the members still in high school, Måneskin went on to perform on X- Factor: Italia. The band finished in second place, having performed several covers and a few original songs. After their success on X-Factor, Måneskin released an album titled Chosen, after their original song, which is featured on the album.

Following Chosen, which featured only one song in Italian, “Vengo della Luna,” the band found even more popularity after releasing their first original song that was all in Italian, “Morirò da Re.” They would soon release their second album, Il ballo della vita, which was heavily focused on songs sung in Italian. 

For a while, following the success of Il ballo della vita, Måneskin lived in London, where they focused on their music styles and began writing new material. In October 2020, they released the single “Vent’anni.” In March 2021, Måneskin won the Sanremo Music Festival with their song “Zitti e Buoni” and they were sent to the Eurovision stage. That same spring, Måneskin became the 2021 winner of the Eurovision song contest with the same song that won Sanremo. 

Due to their win at Eurovision, the Italian band gained international fame through TikTok, where their cover of “Beggin’” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons gained immense popularity. Shortly after releasing their third album, Teatro D’ira Vol. 1, their songs began hitting weekly charts in several different European countries. 

Following a loss at Sanremo in 2022, the young Italians started to work on new music. They released the single “Supermodel” and continued their Loud Kids world tour. In October 2022, Måneskin announced their fourth studio album, Rush!. The album includes “La Fine,” “Mamma Mia,” “THE LONELIEST,” “Supermodel,” and “GOSSIP,” previously released as singles, along with a host of new music. 

Hours before the album was released, Måneskin held a wedding ceremony to celebrate the album. The idea behind it was that they were “getting married in a Rush!” Thrown by Spotify, the event had the four members dress in white wedding attire in which they got “married to music.”

In reviewing the new album that made its way to listeners’ ears at 7pm EST, it is a daring departure to its previous Teatro D’ira Vol. 1. Rush! consists of several songs in English and only a few in Italian. The mood of the album is also quite different from previous. Their earlier releases were the albums of their late teens and early twenties and the confusion that comes with being that age. Now, Måneskin has reached international fame and seems to no longer be confused where things are headed for them. 

One song towards the end of the almost hour-long album stands apart from the rest. “IL DONO DELLA VITA” is a mellow rock song sung in Italian. The message found in the lyrics is one of success and appreciating the small things in life. It was originally meant for the last album but was kept for the next. While the message of the song matches that of Rush! the addition of this song to Teatro D’ira Vol. 1 could have made for good contrast between the similarly mellow, but sad songs “CORALINE” and “VENT’ANNI.” 

The best song on the album is definitely “GASOLINE,” which features a dark, distorted bass and guitar. Part of the song was released in early 2022 in protest to the war in Ukraine. It soon became part of their tour setlist. The anti-war anthem calls out Vladimir Putin, asking him, “How are you sleeping at night? How do you close both your eyes? Living with all of those lives on your hands?” 

While Rush!  is much longer than the previous album, it did not have the same impact. While “GOSSIP” and “GASOLINE” are sure to become hits, the album has more misses than new hits. While it seems that catchy and relatable songs to the general public were abandoned in favor of superficial songs about partying, the band’s message about talking about the hard issues with their music still remains. The song “TIMEZONE” details the struggles of having a long distance relationship and songs like “KOOL KIDS” keeps their ideal of just being “music freaks.”