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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
Released	15 June 2018 (2018-06-15)
Genre	Psychedelic pop[1] tropicália[2]
Length	33:17
Label	Domino Fat Possum
Producer	Melody 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
"Shirim" Released: 15 October 2014 "Cross My Heart" Released: 5 April 2017 "Breathe In, Breathe Out" Released: 3 April 2018[3] "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]

Bon Voyage was produced in Solna by Melody Protchet, Reine Fiske of Dungen and Fredrik Swahn after Protchet's move to nearby Bagarmossen, Sweden.[8] Both Flying Lotus and Tyler, the Creator reached out to Protchet for support, 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.[8]

The album was originally slated to be released in 2017, when "Cross My Heart" was released in April 2017.[9] The album was delayed when Melody had suffered a "serious accident" earlier in June,[10] adding that her upcoming tour would be cancelled.[11]

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.[12] 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."[13]

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."[14]

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.[15]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10[16]
Metacritic	77/100[17]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[18]
The A.V. Club	B+[19]
Chicago Tribune	[1]
DIY	[20]
The Guardian	[21]
The Independent	[22]
Mojo	[2]
NME	[23]
Pitchfork	7.1/10[24]
Uncut	9/10[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 7.4 aggregate on AnyDecentMusic?.[16] 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."[18] 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."[1]

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

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

External links

• Bon Voyage at Discogs (list of releases)

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