Chad Valley

Young Hunger

Cascine

Street: 10.30.12

Chad Valley = Scritti Politti + Christopher Cross-Tears For Fears

Sounding too much like an 80’s act resolvedly stuck in the ’80s–save the occasional auto-tune tweaking–one man band Hugo Manuel (of Jonquil) has a silky smooth and very high-pitched falsetto, which he can impressively drop a few octaves down effortlessly. From a musical stand point, his full-length debut frequently veers into the elevator kind with little to distinguish it.  The culprit? The too-many-cooks-spoil-the-sound-formula: seven of the 11 tracks are of the “featuring another guest” variety.  That isn’t to dismiss the whole concept or guests for that matter–as lead track “I Owe You This” featuring Twin Shadow–is elevated by the addition.  There is a market for this retro sound but the more successful artists who have embraced it (like La Roux or Hurts) have a much better grasp of what makes it so memorable: the beat. –Dean O Hillis