Damiano David - FUNNY little FEARS

Damiano David’s voice is the key to his success - there’s no doubt about it. Here, on his debut solo record, his honey-dripped tones coast through melancholic orchestration, dreamy synthesisers, and acoustic melodies as he swoons and coos about his lover, making for a much softer side to the Måneskin singer than we’re used to.

While we’ve had peeks at his tenderness in some of his earlier, Italian language tracks - having risen to fame as the frontman of Måneskin, who placed second in Italy’s X Factor in 2017, and went on to win Eurovision in 2021 - the Italian language itself feels so sensual, so meaningful, that the English renditions of ‘Funny Little Fears’ don’t quite fill the same shoes.

Familiar melodies and song structures act as guide through a rather beautiful, albeit somewhat predictable, 14-track record as Damiano grapples for an identity as a solo artist. Tracks like ‘Next Summer’, ‘Bruise’, and ‘Sick Of Myself’ soon bleed together into one jumbled, despondent tone while, ‘Tango’ and ‘Born With A Broken Heart’ depend on a similar piano tone to carry the tunes. But despite moments of homogeneity, ‘Voices’ and ‘MARS’ stand out on the record as glimmers of the vocalist the public has come to know and love. Yes, modern music follows certain sonic rules, but unfortunately, ‘Funny Little Fears’ is a little too by the book.