French songwriter Melody Prochet (above) and producer Kevin Parker (from
Australia’s trip-inducing Tame Impala) have joined forces to create
Melody’s Echo Chamber, a “psych-chanteuse” outfit firmly in the
tradition of earlier forebears such as Broadcast and Stereolab. Their
self-titled debut begins with “Follow You”—a song so catchy it made me
stop everything I was doing in order to listen to it again and again—and
then unfolds ten more tracks featuring sweeping, lovelorn vocals resting
on a bed of blown-out guitars and scratchy, spooky-sounding synths. The
result is a kind of intimate time warp incorporating layers of sci-fi
sound effects and tape-recorded dialogue to create a world of its own—one that lends itself to multiple enchanting listens.
Standout tracks: “You Won’t Be Missing That Part of Me,” “Endless Shore,” and “Quand Vas Tu Rentrer.”
Photo: Diane Sagnier
