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CMU Approved
Approved: Chad Valley
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 19 October 2010
The solo project of Jonquil frontman Hugo Manuel, Chad Valley is cut from similar cloth to that of the recently CMU Approved Evenings and chillwave poster boy Washed Out. His slick, soulful 80s pop tunes having been, er, washed out and buried under a wave of effects, compressing and distorting the finished recordings. It’s an increasingly common technique, yes, but gives these songs such a dreamy quality it’s hard to imagine them being presented any other way.
Well, I say that, but Chad Valley was one of the acts I caught at last week’s In The City. Where, armed with a synth, a drum machine and a microphone, he performed without all the hiss, letting out the full force of his soulful voice. To be honest, it probably works best on record, particularly as Manuel’s image doesn’t really fit his music on stage – it was kind of Fleet Foxes does Hurts – but you’d still do well to check him out in one form or other.
