Damiano David’s new single, Born With A Broken Heart, comes as his band enters an extended hiatus. After Måneskin’s long tour seasons and skyrocketing international acclaim fueled by their 2021 Eurovision victory, they had been touring the world nearly constantly. Selling out venues like Madison Square Garden takes a toll.
David has said on the Italian talk show, Che Tempo Che Fa, that Måneskin isn’t breaking up, though, and that his singles are some of the products of his Erasmus project. (For us Americans, an Erasmus is a gap year.) He has wanted to work on something individually for some time, expressing excitement for his new music.
His first single, Silverlines, which came out Sept. 27, is more soulful than David’s work with Måneskin. This work was a collaboration with the producer and songwriter Labyrinth, and it shows. Labyrinth is known for songs such as Mount Everest. David’s first single with Labyrinth is spacious, ethereal, and thoughtful while also having a sense of recounting joyfulness.
His new single is a direct juxtaposition both in lyrical content and in vibes to Silverlines, demonstrating a jovial and upbeat sound that is reminiscent of Conan Gray songs like Maniac or Disaster with a very Damiano twist. The lyrics represent a more mournful outlook on love, saying things like “Don’t wanna see you cryin’, but I just know who I am; And, baby, that’s the hardest part of—Baby, you can’t fix me I was born with a broken heart.”
David mentions that the song enumerates his feelings of emptiness and numbness at the time in a more joyous light compared to Silverlines. This has been his theme for the beginning of his solo career. “We all have the ability to transform negative experiences into something meaningful for us,” he’d say to Clash.
The pop sensibilities of the song are in part due to the co-writers. One writer, Jason Evigan, wrote songs such as Girls Like You by Maroon 5 and Physical by Dua Lipa. The other, Mark Schnick, has worked on music like Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) by Elton John and Dua Lipa and Bad Omens by 5 Seconds of Summer.
For those who know David as the frontman for Måneskin, they should throw that idea to the side before listening to these songs. Born With A Broken Heart and Silverlines are David’s music. It reflects a side of him not seen in the band. According to Billboard, “David explain[ed] that part of the reason he had not yet shared this more personal side of him in Måneskin was because he wanted to respect the band’s strong identity — which he credits as part of its success — and also the “role that was assigned to him,” but it wasn’t showing him as a whole person.
Born With A Broken Heart is a wonderful and fun track that is bound to make you bop your head and sing along. Silverlines is also a soulful cathartic must-listen-to.
