Bon Voyage (Melody's Echo Chamber album)

Bon Voyage is the second studio album by French psychedelic pop band Melody's Echo Chamber. Released on 15 June 2018 on Fat Possum Records, the album 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)		 Emotional Eternal
(2022)
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, Bon Voyage was pushed back due to Prochet suffering a brain aneurysm and broken vertebrae from an unspecified accident, which resulted in her being in the hospital for several months.[6]

Background

Bon Voyage was produced in Solna by Melody Protchet, Reine Fiske of Dungen, and Fredrik Swahn after Protchet's move to nearby Bagarmossen, Sweden.[7] Both Flying Lotus and Tyler, the Creator reached out to Protchet, with Flying Lotus letting her record demos in his Los Angeles studio, but Protchet ultimately ended up moving to Bagarmossen instead to record with Fiske and Swahn.[7]

Plans for a second studio album date back to late 2014, when Melody Prochet released "Shirim".[8] Originally slated to be released in 2017, with "Cross My Heart" being released in April of that year,[9] the album was delayed due to Prochet suffering a "serious accident" earlier in June;[10] her then-upcoming tour was cancelled.[11]

The album was formally announced on 3 April 2018,[3] with lead single "Breathe In, Breathe Out" being released along with an accompanying music video.[12] Prochet wrote that she was "enchanted" to share the music video, describing it as a "little animated fable" and thanking "Daniel Foothead and Team".[13] In a positive review of the track, Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork described the song as having "stop-start melodic breaks" and "a jarring conclusion", and commented that the song is "packed with ideas" and leaves listeners "wondering what comes next".[14] The track was featured as song of the day on Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S.-based National Public Radio, on 1 May 2018.[15]

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[16]
Metacritic77/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
The A.V. ClubB+[19]
Chicago Tribune[1]
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".[17] The album also received a 7.5 aggregate on AnyDecentMusic?.[16]

Writing for AllMusic, Tim Sendra stated that the album demonstrates that the band is "far from […] just a Kevin Parker creation" and that "Prochet's vision is her own, […] strong enough here to fly free of any and all constraints".[18] Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot praised the album's composition, describing Bon Voyage as "even stranger" than the band's debut, with each of its songs "splashed in psychedelic colors".[1]

While 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 praised the album's experimentation and diversity of influences,[2] with Tyler drawing comparisons to the work of Tropicália artists such as Os Mutantes and Tom Zé and noting the album's "singular appeal".[2]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Melody Prochet, except "Var har du vart?" by Gustav Ejstes

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Cross My Heart"Melody Prochet, Fredrik Swan, Reine Fiske6:55
2."Breathe In, Breathe Out"Prochet2:50
3."Desert Horse"Prochet, Swan, Fiske5:15
4."Var har du vart?"Gustav Ejstes1:28
5."Quand les larmes d'un ange font danser la neige"Prochet, Swan, Fiske, Mattias Gustavsson, David Svedmyr, Johan Holmegard, Nicholas Allbrook7:07
6."Visions of Someone Special, on a Wall of Reflections"Prochet, Swan, Fiske4:55
7."Shirim"Prochet4:47
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 and 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 (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6), bass guitar (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6), keyboards (tracks 1 and 2), drums (tracks 2 and 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 and 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. Kot, Greg (15 June 2018). "Review: Melody's Echo Chamber doubles down on psychedelic pop on 'Bon Voyage'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 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. Snapes, Laura (2018-07-13). "Melody's Echo Chamber: 'My lyrics have this long echo in my reality'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2022-08-23. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  8. "Melody's Echo Chamber returns with dreamy new single "Shirim" — listen". consequence.net. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  9. "Melody's Echo Chamber Returns With the Sprawling "Cross My Heart"".
  10. Yoo, Noah (27 June 2017). "Melody's Echo Chamber Cancels Tour Due to "Serious Accident"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  11. Britton, Luke Morgan (27 June 2017). "Melody's Echo Chamber cancels tour after suffering 'serious accident'". NME. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  12. Breiham, Tom (3 April 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber – "Breathe In, Breathe Out" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  13. 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.
  14. Fitzmaurice, Larry (3 April 2018). ""Breathe In, Breathe Out" by Melody's Echo Chamber Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  15. "Melody's Echo Chamber - Breathe In, Breathe Out". The Current. Minnesota Public Radio. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  16. "Bon Voyage by Melody's Echo Chamber reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  17. "Bon Voyage by Melody's Echo Chamber Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  18. Sendra, Tim. "Bon Voyage – Melody's Echo Chamber". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  19. Waite, Kelsey J. (15 June 2018). "Melody's Echo Chamber, Bon Voyage". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 15 July 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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