Brainsqueezed - Scarred (Self-Released)

Brainsqueezed is the music project of French artist Sébastien Laloue. Recently, he released his new album Scarred, a long-awaited follow up to his 2015 debut EP Emotions. Brainsqueezed’s sound is a dark, progressive mix of Laloue’s influences like Pink Floyd, Queen, and Peter Gabriel, and the album is a giant step forward for the band in every way. The songs, the production, and the vocals have all improved, and even more crucially, Brainsqueezed has finally developed in a unique sound of its own, proving that sometimes a little time away is a good thing for the sake of artistic discovery.

Although Brainsqueezed is essentially the creation of one individual, Laloue recorded the album with a group of studio musicians. Nevertheless, the songs here sound as tight as one would expect from a band that has toured the globe for years. From the menacing, brooding “Pentothal” to “Razor Blade” which could have easily been a power ballad by Guns N’ Roses, the entire album has an impressive unity of style and execution. Scarred might have been four years in the making, but its dark, stentorian vision of prog rock makes the wait well worth it. The sound itself may not be exactly modern, but it should easily find a home with both 70s prog and 90s alt rock fans.