Out5ide - 2026 - Crashed Cars

(52:34; M&O Music)

Track list:
1. Wooden Bridge Part 1 1:26
2. Wooden Bridge Part 2 5:58
3. Crashed Car Melody 5:24
4. Forgotten 4:15
5. Seal 5:48
6. Schizo Part 1 4:49
7. The Thing 5:57
8. Point of View 4:32
9. Schizo Part 2 4:17
10. Sophie 5:02
11. Wooden Bridge Part 3 5:06

Line-up:
Olivier Sapte - drums
Olivier Schaal - keyboards, piano, synthetizers
Philippe Rau - guitars, vocals
Laurent Hantz - vocals, guitars, trumpet, synthetizers
Mathieu Heise - bass


Prolusion.
French band Out5ide have a history that goes way back to 1996, and in their initial run they released three studio albums, and hooked up with legendary French label Musea Records along the way too. The band started their second phase of life back in 2016, switching from the band name Outside to Out5ide at that point, and a further three studio albums have appeared since then. "Crashed Cars" is the most recent of these, and was released in the fall of 2026 through French label M&O Records.

Analysis.
While I cannot recall what this band sounded like in their initial phase, I see that they are classified and described as a neo-progressive rock band on the old Progarchives website. While that may have been the case in earlier years, Out5ide as of 2026 is a band that explore a few different aspects of the progressive rock universe.

There is a healthy inclusion of what I'd describe as alternative rock tidbits for starters, at times ever so subtly reminding me of a band like Manic Street Preachers, and with some firm, energetic bass lines and captivating guitar motifs that possibly may draw upon a little bit of a post-punk inspiration.

But we also get liberal amounts of psychedelic rock tendencies throughout here. We get the more relaxed and blues-tinged details many associate with Pink Floyd here, but also more modern and striking sounds closer to the likes of Porcupine Tree. With occasional dips into the type of dreamladen landscapes I'll associate with a band like RPWL, as well as a few brief sidesteps into more neo-progressive rock flavored landscapes on occasion. Without the latter being a defining aspect of the sound this time around.

As a one off we also get a little bit of a flirt with sounds. tones and timbres that I tend to associate with early 80's King Crimson, complete with some eerie and quirky movements and details, and on the other scale of the expression canvas we also get songs and sequences that bring in a little bit of a US sounding roots rock sound. 

It is an interesting ride we get on this album, where a widespread and accessible variety with some quirky underpinnings appear to be the order of the day when regarding the album as a whole. As I get the impression that this is a concept album I suspect that some of the variety is due to that, at least that would be a logical thought to have. It is also interesting to me that this is a band that works at being both quirky and accessible, subtly expressive at times but also more overtly captivating.  With various aspects of elements from the psychedelic part of the progressive rock universe as recurring elements throughout.

Conclusion.
Out5ide's most recent album comes across as an ambitious endeavour that seeks to combine captivating and accessible sounds with quirky and expressive tangents, inside of a framework defined by psychedelic rock flavoring and a progressive rock oriented structure. And an album well worth tracking down if this is a description that catches your imagination and interest.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, October 2026

Links:
https://out5ide.com/
https://www.m-o-music.com/