Fans of the swoopy and trippy pop stylings of Tame Impala and Dungen are likely celebrating the return of Melody’s Echo Chamber. France’s Melody Prochet leads an impressive band of acclaimed musicians back for the first time with the release of their fourth album and first since 2022, titled Unclouded.

Prochet’s voice is a powerful musical instrument. It soars and swoons above the music over the course of 12 songs. The lyrics are fairly difficult to decipher and I find myself tiring of it when listening beyond more than a few songs at a time.

That said, the music is immaculate and interesting throughout. The players she has recruited from various bands—including Madlib, Heliocentrics, and the El Michels Affair—really play nicely together. It’s no wonder my first instinct upon hearing the record was that it sounds like Dungen, a Swedish band whose Ta Det Lugnt is one of my favorite albums of 2004. Reine Fiske of Dungen plays inventive and sparkling guitar throughout the record.

My favorite songs are the first two, the strings-laden “The House That Doesn’t Exist” and “In the Stars,” which is the kind of psych-pop that allows a mind to drift into a spaced-out pleasure, with drums occasionally adding a galloping pace behind the Paul Weller R&B style of the rest of the instruments. The short guitar solo in the closer “Daisy” is also a payoff moment.

Small doses are my favorite way to listen to Unclouded, but I have to admit I was won over after several listens by an album that I didn’t quite “get” on the first few tries. I also enjoyed it most while listening at night after a long day, in a dark room, with just myself and my headphones.

Domino Records should be commended as well for its commitment to releasing female rockers over the years, like Wet Leg, Cat Power, and My Bloody Valentine. This—as well as Melody’s Echo Chamber’s last full-length—is a fitting addition to its catalog.

order Unclouded by Melody’s Echo Chamber HERE