Måneskin frontman Damiano David goes off piste with tune-laden pop album that fans will either love a lot or entirely hate.
Frontman of quirky, glam-tinted rockers Måneskin, there’s clearly a chunk more to the annoyingly chisel-cheeked Damiano David than we thought. He’s not done bad so far – give or take Lacuna Coil, Måneskin are the only Italian rock band to genuinely break through, and doing so off the back of a 2021 Eurovision win is entirely typical of their oddness.
This first solo offering, however, is something else again – an almost complete diversion from anywhere our man has been before. Love it or not, it’s clear that the songs shine. Voices is a decent opener, an ace sing-along that somehow combines polished newness with aching familiarity. It’s also the perfect way to inform the listener that FUNNY little FEARS is going to be notably different to its creator’s day job. Damiano’s free-flowing but obviously pop-based rock is never predictable, or particularly like any one of his peers. Next Summer, for example, could be part of YUNGBLUD's more introspective wanderings but Tango, in contrast, trots along like something from Download debutants McFly.
Damiano’s mind, clearly, is a breeding ground for cute, sassy tunes – the sort of thing Scissor Sisters and Mika (from Channel 4’s The Piano) specialise in. Bruise, a hushed, tearful whisper of a song, is emotive and singable. Along with Sick Of Myself, it’s one of several, the majority in fact, that although deftly honed have no obvious connection to anything you’d normally consider part of the rock world. Mars, with its subtle but reverb-laden guitar, is almost the only exception.
Perhaps that’s the whole point – Damiano getting away from what he normally does to prove himself further, dancing to different beats. Nothing wrong with that and nothing wrong with FUNNY little FEARS, but its success will depend on whether existing fans are as free-thinking as this talented artist clearly is.
Verdict: 3/5
For fans of: The Killers, McFly, Stereophonics
FUNNY little FEARS is released by Sony Music Italy/Arista on May 16
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