Review:
Rinse's breakfast show champion makes good on his blossoming relationship with Hyperdub and delivers this exotic and flavoursome debut LP. The first thing you notice is the strength of the vocal contributions, from Fatima on "Just Vybe" to Cornelia's elfin tones on "Pretty Ugly"; the combined effect of over half the tracks featuring a different singer somehow winds up with Pretty Ugly feeling like the best neo-soul album in recent times. DVA's production is wild, like a ranging beast he has no hope of taming. The sheer richness of sounds on offer, mixed with the oddball synths, noises, squiggles and jiggles, combine with the vocals for an utterly fresh album.