I’ve always found that slick and polished British synth-pop does wonders for curing any Monday blues you might be experiencing, and Chad Valley successfully proved last week at a dimly lit High Noon Saloon. The trancey, club-beat infused tunes at times didn’t feel too far removed from the “commercially-minded” radio-friendly pop songs that Hugo Manuel, the man behind Chad Valley, spoke to us about last week.
The audience last Monday night was small but very engaged. It was hard not to look away from Manuel’s energetic on-stage movements. “We’ve been on tour for a while and we’re starting to lose our minds a little bit,” he admitted in a thick English accent that made his speech unclear at times. His fatigue, however, did not show in the slightest. Songs like “Up and Down” and passionately urgent “Tell All Your Friends” prompted some intense head nodding and filled the space nicely.
Manuel’s performance was largely a one-man show excluding the female backup singer who also provided bits of percussion here and there. It’s always an impressive feat when an artist produces all (or in this case, about 85%) of the sound in a live setting — and Manuel’s busy adjustments, constantly adding loops and layers while also singing, were certainly no exception. His songs seem too involved and packed to be pulled off with two hands and ten fingers but alas, Manuel kept up with the pace like the pro he is. One backwards-capped audience member commented to a friend after the show, “Wow, that was a lot of sound.” Well put.