Pretty V: Destiny of Illusion LP

Voldy Moyo's debut LP in Pretty V mode is bound to charm a lot of ears who like their lo-fi indie-pop chock with hooks, ample scuzz and bittersweet melodic ache. As the 24 songs prove, Pretty V is bold in his assertion of the cruddiest songcraft, not afraid to let it all hang out in a proper warts and all style that makes most others with a guitar, sampler and mic in the modern scene seem positively uptight.

As we said, his wickedly slopped slant on The Smiths’ anthem is a highlight, sharing a mucky sense of the ludic innovation that marbles the whole thing like mold and detritus glistening like filigree and gold dust in sunlight that breaks thru the spent cans and butt ends of his bedsit. They’ve a real way with nerve-grabbing jangles, as on the downbeat melancholy of ‘Dream Life’, and another standout ‘London’, thru the sozzled croon of ’31’ and the lushly obliterated gauze of ‘Patterns, Patterns, Patterns,,,’ that all place him in a realm shared by likes of Good Sad Happy Bad, Graham Lambkin, or pigbaby.