Album Review: Melody's Echo Chamber - Bon Voyage

It's said that following up a breakthrough debut is tricky. Melody's Echo Chamber - Melody Prochet to her mum - has had to overcome more than her fair share of setbacks, not least suffering a brain aneurysm and broken vertebrae last year, forcing her to cancel her comeback tour.

Prochet's Kevin Parker-produced debut was very much of its time, but Bon Voyage is a headfirst plunge into something entirely new. It's a proper exotic delight that flits hither and thither in the most unexpected ways. Quand Les Larmes D'un Ange Font Danser La Neige is a prime example of this, starting as a pleasant '60s-esque pop number with understated bass  fuzz, it suddenly launches a disco bassline as if Giorgio Moroder had walked into the studio and left 20 seconds later as the song stutters to a hushed acoustic strum. Fans of Stereolab should be queuing up, while the breezy Cross My Heart could well appeal to The Avalanches acolytes with its soaring chorus and jazz-flute ride into the sunset.

Bon Voyage is an adventurous wonder that's all the more inspiring given the adversity Prochet has overcome.