BRAINSQUEEZED: Old School Garage (ALTERNATIVE ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Brainsqueezed, the project of French expatriate Sébastien Laloue, is back in 2025 with its third album, “Old School Garage”. Like his previous opus, the man has renewed his list of guests, notably Marcello Vieira and Audrey Karrasch on vocals, to offer us a work as varied as it is endearing.

Brainsqueezed has always liked to give free rein to its inspirations, and this new album doesn't change that, with ten tracks in as many moods, sometimes pop, often rock. Speed and technical prowess are not the order of the day for Sébastien Laloue, who prefers to focus on melody and arrangements.

Sometimes naive in appearance, the songs all have that little something that surprises and often takes them to another level, starting with the introductory 'Fix The Play', with its rather dull verse swept away by a luminous, liberating chorus. The same is true of the stripped-down 'Tell Me', which explodes at the end with a heavy riff over which a gospel choir and a raging harmonica land, 'Something Very 80s' and 'Haunted Mind', magnified by a final sax score, and 'The Boy', which benefits from a pretty guitar solo. As with “I Am Not A Robot”, Audrey Karrasch's vocals once again shine through on most of the tracks, adding to the atmosphere with her many lines, particularly on the heavy, misty and mysterious “The New World”.

Faithful to its roadmap, Brainsqueezed's “Old School Garage” is a pleasant album to listen to, reflecting the influences it has assimilated over the years, with enough originality to be remembered. - Official website

BRAINSQUEEZED

OLD SCHOOL GARAGE

AUTOPRODUCTION

ALTERNATIVE ROCK