Album Review - DVA: Pretty Ugly

DVA
Pretty Ugly
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Leon 'Scratcha DVA' Smart is well-known as the former host of Rinse FM's Grimey Breakfast Show and also as a producer in the grime and UK funky genres. Pretty Ugly is his debut full length on the Hyperdub label, and despite his past reputation, the album is not solely a collection of grime and UK funky tracks; instead, it is a surprisingly diverse collection of broken beat tracks that never seems comfortable staying in the same pattern for long. Interestingly, the album seems to show a marked influence from the Flying Lotus Beat Music collective, with a focus on hazy vibes and singularly off-kilter programming. Mixing things up further are the use of multiple vocalists that, despite a bevy of different styles, seem to work well and flow in and out of each other with ease. True to its title, Pretty Ugly enjoys the contrast between the beautiful and harsh; either pushing unsteady, brutish beats against gorgeous vocal melodies or adding incongruous noises to infiltrate an otherwise beautiful keyboard line.

I'm not generally a fan of electronic artists that throw vocalists onto tracks on their albums for some semblance of mainstream appeal. Too often, the tracks come across as someone just coming in late and adding lyrics/vocals to an instrumental track, without there being much of a consensus beforehand. Strangely, on Pretty Ugly the vocal tracks come across better than the instrumentals, the earthiness of the vocals adding a through line for the broken beat compositions. "Just Vybe" features a shuffling, clunky rhythm and burbling bed of electronics as a canvas for Fatima's deep throaty growl,



"Why U Do" mutates a 2 step beat under organ drones and AL's tale of a woman wronged and her man's comeuppance, and most beautifully, Natalie Maddix adds her soulful voice to the woozy, dreamy "Eye Know."



Muhsinah hauntingly sighs over the skittering beats of "33rd Degree," becoming more and more despondent as the track speeds towards its conclusion. Victor Duplaix's vocals push against the stumbling beats and fantasy analog synths of "Madness."



I preferred the vocal tracks, not so much because the instrumentals felt lacking, the vocals just gave a sense of balance and control over the electronics, which sometimes could become oppressive. "Reach The Sun" uses almost 1:30 of its run time on a disjointed/atonal electronic intro before bouncing into a rhythmic fantasy world of blooping keyboards and sampled voices. "Polyphonic Dreams" features pounding beats and swirling analog synths which threaten to derail over glitchy feedback.



The throbbing pulse of "Bare Fuzz" is broken up by warm vibes and looped, almost tribal chanting.



And it all ends with the hauntingly grand "Where I Belong" with droning synth stings and horns, that closes out the album on a slightly funeral tone.



Pretty Ugly is a well-produced, intriguing debut from DVA whose parts are better than the sum of the whole. Ultimately, it feels like a interesting collection of tracks that don't really have any connecting thread. For me, this made for a pleasant listen, but didn't add up to anything more. DVA is always going to put out well-crafted tracks, I am just going to have to wait a little longer for a more cohesive statement from him.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.