Bon Voyage (Melody's Echo Chamber album)

Bon Voyage is the second studio album by French psychedelic pop band Melody's Echo Chamber. It was released on 15 June 2018 on Fat Possum Records. It is a collaboration between Melody Prochet and members of the Swedish psychedelic rock band Dungen.[5]

Bon Voyage
Studio album by
Melody's Echo Chamber
Released15 June 2018 (2018-06-15)
Genre
Length33:17
Label
ProducerMelody Prochet, Fredrik Swahn and Reine Fiske
Melody's Echo Chamber chronology
Melody's Echo Chamber
(2012)		 Bon Voyage
(2018)
Singles from Bon Voyage
  1. "Shirim"
    Released: 15 October 2014
  2. "Cross My Heart"
    Released: 5 April 2017
  3. "Breathe In, Breathe Out"
    Released: 3 April 2018[3]
  4. "Desert Horse"
    Released: 15 May 2018[4]

Originally slated to be released a year earlier, in the Spring of 2017, the album was pushed back due to Melody Prochet suffering a brain aneurysm and broken vertebrae from an unspecified accident, causing her to be in the hospital for several months.[6]

Background

Plans for a second studio album dated back to late 2014, when Melody Prochet released "Shirim".[7]

The album was originally slated to be released in 2017, when "Cross My Heart" was released in April 2017.[8] The album was delayed when Melody had suffered a "serious accident" earlier in June,[9] adding that her upcoming tour would be cancelled.[10]

The album was formally announced with a release date on 3 April 2018.[3] That day, the lead single "Breathe In, Breathe Out" was released along with an accompanying music video.[11] With the release of the single, Prochet wrote ""I'm enchanted to share this video for new single 'Breathe In/Breathe Out', a little animated fable that resonates greatly with the record. Thank you Daniel Foothead and Team for this little Pilgrim and it's Muse story. "All my Love, Melody."[12]

In a positive review of the track, Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork described the song as a "stop-start melodic breaks—before cutting out quickly and entirely in a jarring conclusion". Fitzmaurice also said the song is "packed with ideas, its brevity leaving the listener wondering what comes next."[13]

On 1 May 2018, "Breathe In, Breathe Out" was the song of the day on Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S.-based, National Public Radio.[14]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[15]
Metacritic77/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
The A.V. ClubB+[18]
Chicago Tribune[19]
DIY[20]
The Guardian[21]
The Independent[22]
Mojo[2]
NME[23]
Pitchfork7.1/10[24]
Uncut9/10[25]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Bon Voyage received an average score of 77, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16] The album also received a 7.4 aggregate on AnyDecentMusic?.[15] AllMusic writer Tim Sendra stated that "Bon Voyage shows that Melody's Echo Chamber is far from being just a Kevin Parker creation. Prochet's vision is her own, and it's strong enough here to fly free of any and all constraints."[17] In a positive review, Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot praised the album's composition, summarizing that "if anything, Bon Voyage is even stranger than its predecessor, seven songs splashed in psychedelic colors."[19]

In a mixed assessment, Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian felt that the album's "restless experimentalism" failed to establish "a strong personality to anchor it".[21] Keiron Tyler of Mojo, on the other hand, praised the experimentation and diversity of influences.[2] Tyler drew comparisons to the work of Tropicália artists such as Os Mutantes and Tom Zé and noted the album's "singular appeal".[2]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Melody Prochet; all music is composed by Melody's Echo Chamber.

No.TitleLength
1."Cross My Heart"6:55
2."Breathe In, Breathe Out"2:50
3."Desert Horse"5:15
4."Var har du vart?"1:28
5."Quand les larmes d'un ange font danser la neige"7:07
6."Visions of Someone Special, on a Wall of Reflections"4:55
7."Shirim"4:47
Total length:33:17

Personnel

All personnel credits adapted from album liner notes

  • Melody Prochet - vocals (all tracks), drums (tracks 1-3), keyboards (tracks 2-3, 5), electric guitar (tracks 2, 6), violin (tracks 5-6), all instruments (track 7), production (all tracks except 4), mixing (tracks 2, 6)
  • Fredrik Swahn - keyboards (tracks 1, 5), bass guitar (track 2), sound engineering (tracks 1-3, 5-6), production (all tracks except 7), mixing (tracks 2, 4-6)
  • Reine Fiske - guitars (1, 3, 5-6), bass guitar (tracks 1, 3, 5-6), keyboards (tracks 1-2), drums (tracks 2-3), percussion (tracks 2-3, 6), violin (track 3, 6), production (tracks 1-3, 5-6), mixing (tracks 2, 5, 6)
  • Gustav Ejstes - piano (track 2), beatbox (track 3), scream (track 3), percussion (track 3), vocals (track 4), guitar (track 4), organ (track 6)
  • Johan Holmegard - drums (tracks 5-6)
  • Nicholas Allbrook - spoken word (track 5)
  • Maxime Leguil - mixing (tracks 1, 3)
  • Raphael Jonin - mastering (all tracks)
  • Silly Jane - artwork
  • Paul J. Street & Matthew Cooper - design

Release history
Region Date Label Format(s) Catalog
United Kingdom 15 June 2018 Domino CD WIG427[26]
LP
United States 15 June 2018 Fat Possum[27] CD 16541[28]
LP 16542[28]
Digital download 16543[28]

References
  1. "Bon Voyage - Melody's Echo Chamber - Styles". Allmusic. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  2. Tyler, Keiron (July 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber: Bon Voyage". Mojo (296): 95.
  3. Maicki, Salvatore (3 April 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber announces sophomore album, shares "Breathe In, Breathe Out"". Fader. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  4. "Melody's Echo Chamber - "Desert Horse"". Stereogum. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  5. "THE RETURN OF MELODY'S ECHO CHAMBER. 'BON VOYAGE' IN STORES JUNE 15". Fat Possum Records. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  6. Claymore, Gabriela (28 June 2017). "Venue Shares Statement About Melody's Echo Chamber Injury [UPDATED]". Stereogum. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  7. "Melody's Echo Chamber returns with dreamy new single "Shirim" — listen". Consequenceofsound.net. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  8. "Melody's Echo Chamber Returns With the Sprawling "Cross My Heart"".
  9. Yoo, Noah (27 June 2017). "Melody's Echo Chamber Cancels Tour Due to "Serious Accident"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  10. Britton, Luke Morgan (27 June 2017). "Melody's Echo Chamber cancels tour after suffering 'serious accident'". NME. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  11. Breiham, Tom (3 April 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber – "Breathe In, Breathe Out" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  12. Trendell, Andrew (3 April 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber returns with new album 'Bon Voyage' and single 'Breathe In, Breathe Out'". NME. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  13. Fitzmaurice, Larry (3 April 2018). ""Breathe In, Breathe Out" by Melody's Echo Chamber Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  14. "Melody's Echo Chamber - Breathe In, Breathe Out". The Current. Minnesota Public Radio. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  15. "Bon Voyage by Melody's Echo Chamber reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  16. "Bon Voyage by Melody's Echo Chamber Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  17. Sendra, Tim. "Bon Voyage – Melody's Echo Chamber". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  18. Waite, Kelsey J. (15 June 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber, Bon Voyage". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  19. Kot, Greg (15 June 2018). "Review: Melody's Echo Chamber doubles down on psychedelic pop on 'Bon Voyage'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  20. Bentley, James (15 June 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber – Bon Voyage". DIY. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  21. Aroesti, Rachel (15 June 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber: Bon Voyage review – a psych-pop hotchpotch". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  22. Kaplan, Ilana; Goggins, Joe (13 June 2018). "Christina Aguilera Liberation review: New album is everything diehard fans could want, but there are misses among the hits". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  23. Milton, Jamie (20 June 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber – 'Bon Voyage' review". NME. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
  24. Cohen, Ian (20 June 2018). "Melody's Echo Chambe: Bon Voyage". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  25. Pinnock, Tom (July 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber: Bon Voyage". Uncut (254): 22.
  26. "Domino - Albums - Bon Voyage". Domino Records. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  27. "Bon Voyage - Fat Possum Records". Fat Possum Records. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  28. "Bon Voyage - Releases". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
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